Who’s your wedding farmer?
by Greg Martin for Brides & Grooms
Who's your wedding farmer?
That was the question Todd and Alexandra Gorman Scranton wanted to make sure they knew the answer to for their marriage. The couple, whose wedding took place on July 7, 2007, utilized the University of Montana’s Farm to College Program exclusively for every item of food that was made available to their guests.
The Farm to College Program is a partnership between UM Dining Services and local area food growers to supply local, home-grown foods for as many food service opportunities as possible that the university provides. Because Todd and Alex chose to have their wedding and reception at the University ballroom, UM Dining Services was their caterer and the couple wanted to make sure that every item of food served at their wedding was local.
“The whole concept was geared toward sustainability,” said Jerry O’Malley, Director of Marketing for UM Dining Services.
The bride, Alexandra Gorman, had received her master’s degree in environmental studies from the university and has a passionate belief in environmentally-sound living. The Farm to College program was a perfect tool to express both a Western Montana flavor and the couple’s commitment to the importance of local living. Placed into the hands of the experienced chefs at UM Dining Services, the food was anything but ordinary.
Hors d’oeuvres included a Cream of the West snack mix from Harlow, Flathead cherries, zucchini latke with sour cream from Meadow Dairy Gold, whitefish caviar from Mountain Lake Fisheries in Columbia Falls and Montana iced tea from Spearmint Springs Tea in Thompson Falls.
“The entire presentation was really impressive,” said O’Malley.
Indeed it was. And it only got fancier from there. The dinner choices could be found at five different stations in the ballroom. At station one, there was Montana Range Beef tenderloin with huckleberry sauce and mashed Bausch Potatoes from Whitehall piped into martini glasses with topping choices of bacon from Daily’s Bacon in Missoula, chives, sour cream, drawn butter, shredded cheddar and an herb sauce, all locally grown.
The enchilada bar was station two, which included Deshebrada chicken from ET Farms in Belt, corn tortillas from Whiting Enterprises in Corvallis, jack cheese from Lifeline Farms in Victor, and a variety of toppings from Western Montana Growers Cooperative in Arlee.
If that weren’t enough, there was a savory crepe station with ham from Redneck Sausage in Kalispell, Lolo Creek mustard, and tofu from Totally Organic in St. Ignatius. The mouth-watering angolatti station had homemade angolatti with goat cheese from Amaltheia Dairy in Belgrade and a brandy morel cream sauce with mushrooms from Larry Evans in Missoula and Meadowgold’s brown drawn butter.
Those wanting a lighter fare could go to station five which was the “soup and salad” station. There, guests could find Dixon Melon soup with Dixon Melon sorbet and a spring salad mix with a local dressing in frisco cups.
Beverages also stayed true to the local theme with Moose Drool and Scape Goat Pale Ale from Big Sky Brewery, Blackfoot Rise Riesling, Clear Weather Chardonnay and Lake Missoula Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon.
If all that sounds a bit too exotic for children, the couple had it covered. They set up a kid’s meal station, complete with a child chef who happened to be the executive chef’s granddaughter. There, young ones could feast upon food more up their alley: Piedmontese mini hamburgers from Montana Range Beef, silver dollar buns from Wheat Montana, macaroni and cheese from Pasta Montana in Great Falls, and Montana Huckleberry bars.
It wasn’t just the food that had an earth-friendly approach. All the invitations, the announcements and the guestbook was made from recycled paper. The couple also had a tree set up with seed paper for the guests to take home and plant native flowers.
To organize for such an elaborate and focused mission, Alexandra frequently conferred with the head chefs at UM Dining Services to meet both the purpose of the Farm to College program and the needs of all of the guests. Chefs included UM’s Tom Siegel, Brian Crego, and Tim Hodges. Siegel even carved an ice swan as decoration for the meal presentation, as if there wasn’t enough to do.
To enhance the local and personal touch to the day, the couple also set up and named each table after the towns that they commuted through during their courtship. And each table had custom local teas.
UM Dining Services Marketing Assistant Diana Dattilo said despite all the intricacies of planning the menu and the layout of the room, the bride remained unflappable, even when one local food item that was planned didn’t arrive.
“She was always calm, cool, and collected,” Dattilo said.
The catering staff did pretty well, too. After the wedding, UM Dining Services made a written documentary of the wedding, complete with photos and descriptions of all the dishes that was available. O’Malley carefully put together the presentation and inserted it into a charmingly rustic looking crate board case. The presentation was submitted to the National Association of College & University Food Services where it was given the Silver ribbon from the Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards.