There’s something extraordinary about eating on the same land your food comes from. This was the simple premise of Nevette Previd, founder of Farm.Field.Sea., and private chef Spring Sheldon’s new pop-up dinner series, Makers Table. Previd, known for her off-the-beaten-path culinary experiences, and Sheldon, noted for colorful, locally minded menus, paired up to bring the magic of the Island to locals and tourists alike via weekly events at unique locations around the Island from July to September. Previd explained that this season of culinary pop-up adventures was made possible with support from Point B Realty, Cronig’s Markets, Frog’s Leap Winery, Bad Martha, Martha’s Vineyard Magazine, Bespoke Affair, and Yeti.
Each Makers Table showcases an assembly of guest chefs, local farmers, shellfish cultivators, speakers, artists, and musicians. As for the food, Sheldon explains, “The menu we put together for each experience is curated to fit the specific theme and location. For example, on July 31 we will celebrate Whiting Farm with Vineyard alumni chef and co-owner of Martha’s Vineyard Smokehouse Nathan Gould, who is now the executive chef at the prestigious O Ya restaurant in Boston. On August 14 we are featuring the plant-based creations of Ky Keenan, co-founder of Not Your Sugar Mamas in Vineyard Haven, for a delicious vegetarian feast.”
Previd says that each adventure “digs into the stories of what has built the Island into what it is today.”
“On August 21, guests will tune into the earth’s rhythms as they explore the foraged, found, and fished — all locally grown varieties that lurk around us, but are not typically found on our grocer’s shelves,” she explains. “It will be led by best-selling guest author and lifelong fisherman Paul Greenberg, who will give us the 411 on foraged foods, and a sneak peek of his latest work, an investigation into the intertwined fates of our bodies and our planet.”
Private guest chef Gavin Smith, the Food Minded Fellow, will use a bounty of Martha’s Vineyard foraged, farmed, and found ingredients for the feast. The event will be rounded out by artist Colin Ruel and music by Ben Hughes, featuring Josey Kirkland.
Each adventure exemplifies Previd’s passion for “fusing pleasure and purpose, and really making it about the Makers’ story — what they’re growing, catching, creating, and their process. Our job is to bring in the wider picture of the agricultural and seafaring history of Martha’s Vineyard. I love the unconventional mix of people around the table — millionaires sitting next to farm workers, the famous next to moms, all sharing a meal as a community.”
Previd said her ultimate desire is to create change, no matter how small. “I am hoping that something little has changed in each person’s life. For example, they think about buying food that is seasonal, understand that this Island is fragile and each of us has a part in protecting and preserving it, or that they met someone they would have never met before.”
“We want it to feel like a great dinner party at your dear friend’s house,” Sheldon said.
To see the full schedule, descriptions, and tickets for this summer’s Makers Table, visit farmfieldsea.com or call 508-687-9012.
