Chef Danny Mellman and his partner Michelle Moran recently opened The Cook’s Farm, a sustainable lifestyle project featuring vegetable and herb gardens, chickens, apiaries, heritage geese, and a rustic cooking school.
“Our goal is to showcase how self-sustaining people can be on a small one-acre parcel,” Mellman said. “We collect rainwater for irrigation and use a lot of the product in the restaurant and in our classes. Plus Michelle is always handing things out in the neighborhood for families in need.”
To date, they’ve hosted monthly farm-to-table dinner, kids cooking camps, chefs from Atlanta and sommeliers from Seattle. This fall they’re cooking up classes with guest chef Bill The Spice Guy showcasing the perfect spice blend on Oct. 27; kids cooking classes Oct. 5, 8 and 15; as well as a farm-to-table dinner, featuring Chef Mellman on Nov. 28.
Over at the restaurant, the new fall menu debuted this month, with new items including vegetarian and gluten-free options using as many local purveyors as possible – something Harvest celebrates and has become known for through the years. Some of the new items include Duck Two-Ways, All-Spice, Cinnamon and Coriander, Seared Moulard Duck Breast and Spice Cured Confit Duck Leg, Red Cabbage Slaw and House Bacon, Sweet Potato Mash, and Cider Syrup; Shrimp & Grits, Sautéed with House-Made Tasso Ham and Logan Turnpike’s Grits; Local Trout, Lemon and Thyme Seared, Mashed Chick Peas, Lemon Arugula Salad and Topped with a Smoke Tomato-Feta Tapenade; and Oven Roasted Seasonal Vegetables, Tossed with Parisian Gnocchi, Sage Butter, Maple Syrup and Almonds.
Other new menu items were inspired by the owner’s post-summer vacation to Andros Island in the Bahamas including Bahamian Jonnycakes which comes with the Southern-style Shrimp & Grits; and Shrimp Scorch, our version of a classic Bahamian Salad with Hot Peppers, Orange, Lime and Onion.
“We took our first break since opening three years ago this fall, traveling to the Bahamas for some bonefishing,” Mellman said. “So there are a few new items inspired by the trip. Our Shrimp Scorch, for example, was based on a really citrusy-spiced raw conch salad our host made for us from some conch we brought back from a day of fishing. It was a great trip, we even met a fishing guide who just took a vacation in our neck of the woods for his fish trout fishing experience.”
Dinner isn’t the only reason to stop in; Harvest’s new lunch menu includes locally raised, grass-fed beef featured in a Build-You-Own burger menu offering the option to add house-smoked pulled pork, The Cook’s Farm fresh fried egg, pimento cheese and more!
Harvest is also growing some fund-raisers this year, working with the Humane Society on a Farm-to-Table dinner at the Lake in October. On Nov. 7th, the restaurant will host a local ‘celebrity’ guest server night giving local dignitaries, police and special guest servers the opportunity to raise funds for local children’s charities. All the “servers’ tips for the night will be pooled together and divided among several local charities, including nutritional goals within the county’s school district.
Harvest on Main Restaurant in Blue Ridge, GA is a great choice for lunch or dinner and the Cooks Farm is a wonderful addition for anyone visiting the area who is renting a North Georgia cabin or if you're just passing through. Be sure to add Harvest and the Cooks Farm to your Blue Ridge Experience!
Harvest on Main | (706) 946-6164| 576 East Main Street | Blue Ridge, GA 30513