From FARM to FESTIVAL
At Coachella, the headliners aren’t just on stage — they’re in the kitchen.
by LILY MOAYERI illustrations by CLAY HICKSON
/ COMMUNITY SPR UT
Despite its desert location, Coachella Valley farms — like Aziz Farms and County Line Harvest — provide a lot of the produce for the immediate area but also for Los Angeles restaurants. The April timing of the festival lines up perfectly with the harvests, offering “a good variety of produce and enough ingredients to make an interesting menu,” according to Denevan. Outstanding in the Field’s Coachella dishes are as eclectic as the festival’s lineup: latkes with caramelized leeks and apple crème fraîche, bacon-wrapped dates with olive tapenade, roasted masa-crusted golden beets with golden atole, crispy enoki mushroom and pistachio salsa macha. The combinations are inventive and make maximum use of the available produce.
Of course, there are always post-festival leftovers, and Adler has food diversion programs in place at Coachella. Unused food that can last for a bit gets delivered to local organizations such as Coachella Valley Rescue Mission and Galilee Center. Food that needs to be eaten quickly is directed to locations that feed unhoused people. Every vendor is required to compost, and those food scraps go directly into the festival grounds. Regardless of where the food goes, where — and who — it comes from is the focus of Coachella’s Outstanding in the Field dining experience. Adler brings everything back to the farmers: “If there’s meat involved, there’s the rancher. If there’s wine involved, there’s the winery. But at its core, it’s a way to celebrate the farms.”
The chefs come from all over. Past events have featured Bangkok- based Gaggan Anand, Australia’s Josh Niland, “Next Level Chef” judge Nyesha Arrington, Hollywood favorite Eric Greenspan, One Off Hospitality’s Paul Kahan, artist Minh Phan, and California cuisine pioneer Jonathan Waxman. While the aim was to keep the talent local, Adler says nearby businesses have a customer boom around Coachella dates and prefer to retain their chefs during that busy time rather than lend them to the festival. Still, 70% of the chefs are Southern California–based, and, in addition to participating in Outstanding in the Field, many of them have food stands at the festival, allowing thousands of festival goers to enjoy their creations.
VISUAL ARTIST JIM DENEVAN founded Outstanding in the Field 25 years ago on his brother’s organic farm, Happy Valley Farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The concept brings diners to where their food is sourced: fishing docks, vineyards, beaches, meadows, and sustainable farms. This unique dining experience was introduced to Coachella 10 years ago by Nic Adler, vice president of festivals at Goldenvoice, Coachella’s promoter. “We bring chefs to family farms that are 10 minutes away from the festival site,” he tells The Rooted Journal. “They walk the fields. They learn about what goes into the farming. They point to the ground at what they’re looking for. It’s pulled, put on a truck, and two hours later, it’s on the plate. There’s a real connection between the farm and the table.” Music festivals are about their artist lineups. This is certainly the case for Southern California’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of North America’s flagship music events. For some festival goers, however, Coachella is also about the food experience, particularly Outstanding in the Field. The traveling long-table dinner seats 300 and takes place every evening of Coachella’s two weekends. The food, prepared by chefs from around the globe, is sourced from local farmers who practice regenerative farming.
Some of the farmers walk the length of the table during the meal and chat with diners about where the ingredients are from and what dishes they can be found in. “The festival goers are surprised and charmed,” Denevan shares. “The farmers are out of their typical surroundings. The cool thing is, the farmers get to see where their food goes and the enthusiasm of the folks.” Adler has a long history with music and food. A son of legendary music producer and manager Lou Adler, Nic basically grew up in the iconic L.A. music venues co-owned by his father: The Roxy and the Rainbow. In 1998 he took over The Roxy and, 20 years later, launched the thriving vegan SoCal fast food chain Monty’s Good Burger shortly before opening the (now shuttered) plant-based
restaurant Nic’s on Beverly. When Adler joined Goldenvoice in 2013 as culinary director, he used the role to significantly elevate the promoter’s food and beverage game. Around the same time, food posts became more popular on social media and users were developing new interests in all things culinary. Adler noticed a connection between the way people listened to music on their phone and the way they were “eating through their phone” and thought about how he could tap into that for festivals. “What is different about a festival is discovery,” he says. “People are in an open state. They are exploring music, relationships, friends, experiences, drink, food. They’re not looking to eat what they eat all the time. They’ll try something they’ve never tried.”
Visit OUTSTANDINGINTHEFIELD.COM to learn more.
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