Food
At the heart of what you’ll experience at Knoll Farm
Food is fundamental to everything we do at Knoll Farm.
Food is the common thread that runs through all aspects of our work: our practice of organic farming, our passion for bringing community together, and our belief in the power of radical hospitality.
Food does more than sustain life. It supports people emotionally, it represents heritage and culture, it brings people together across difference, and it has the power to to connect all of us to the land, to the people who care for the land, and to our ancestors.
Of course, food can also harm. It can be unhealthy, loaded with chemicals and toxins, be too scarce, and be manipulated to make whole peoples and societies ill. We commit ourselves to reclaiming the most positive, regenerative, body-and-soul nurturing power of food. We seek to grow food in a way that builds the health of our land as well as our bodies for the long haul. And we share good food, simply prepared, to bring people together, to nurture well being, and to practice generosity.
To us, food is ceremony. And food is gratitude.
Food at the Refuge Table
When we started holding retreats at Knoll Farm 15 years ago, we challenged ourselves to serve only food that was grown in Vermont. Back then, this was a HUGE challenge. It was one thing to make sure we featured local produce, but it was another to make granola with local oats and oil. So why, you might ask?
Because we get to support our farming neighbors. Our food has fewer miles to travel so it is fresher, and uses less fossil fuel. It keeps us creative. It tastes amazing.
Come to a workshop, retreat or fellowship at Knoll Farm, catered by our chefs, and you will experience meals at one big long banquet table that are delicious, creative, simple and healthy – featuring our own organic produce as well as local meats, cheeses, grains and fruit.
We are not esoteric about food. We believe in making beautiful, in-season versions of classic dishes from many cultures that anyone can make at home. We are also happy to accommodate special diets, and to share with our guests what we know about nutrition, medicinal herbs and organic growing.
In the Heart of Food Tourism
The local food movement in Vermont has been a huge success. Just in our own rural valley we can buy cured butter, incredible cheese, cured meats, stone-ground tortillas, bread made with locally grown grains, cider vinegar, craft beer and countless other foods that we couldn’t find locally before. Small diversified farms are thriving, and Vermont is now known as a food destination.
Below we have put a little directory together of all the incredible places you can visit nearby if you come and stay with us. We are in the ideal location for a retreat that features local food, craft beer, and organic farms.
Create your own food tour
Some of the farms and food producers we most admire are doing incredible work right a few miles from us. You can take tours, learn about craft beer, sample local cheese, and eat at restaurants growing some of their own food. For local-food restaurants check out American Flatbread, Mad Taco, and Worthy Burger. At times you will see Knoll Farm lamb and berries on their menus.
Sample craft beer at Lawson’s Finest Liquids; taste award-winning cheeses and artisan meats at the Taste Place, take a tour of a hydroponic and organic farm at Hartshorn Farm and find many more incredible food creations at the Waitsfield Farmer’s Market every Saturday from May to October.