Stay & Cook
We are excited to begin offering Stay & Cook experiences for groups again. We don’t call what we offer cooking classes, since there is no formal curriculum. We don’t call them demonstrations, since guests take part in the cooking rather than just observing. For experiences where guests stay overnight and join us in the preparation and enjoyment of meals, we’ve landed on the term “Stay & Cook”. You will get a taste of cooking and staying on a working farm and will come away with recipes, new ideas, and inspiration.
What We Do
Our focus started out to be mostly cooking related during our farm weekends, but we are now finding that many folks are eager to develop their homesteading skills and knowledge. With over 35 years of homesteading behind us, we welcome you to come and take advantage of what we’ve learned. Karen leads the way in the kitchen and has many years of practical garden and landscaping skills to share as well. Tim is a wealth of knowledge about apple varieties and orchard management on both a large and small scale. He loves to talk about his passion. Rita has taken the vegetable garden to new heights and keeps us well stocked with produce. Rita’s husband Jerzy is a man of many talents and can be found stepping into multiple roles around the farm, he is working side by side with Tim in the orchard and has brought our Hard Cider production a long way since he joined us. Sophia adds animal husbandry to the mix and often provides meat for our meals. Polly helps us with coordination and communication for all of our events and gatherings.
A minimum group of 8 is required to book. The prices of our experiences include instruction, meals, wine, and recipes to take home. We will assume all guests who are staying will also book and participate in the cooking experience. Contact us for exceptions such as adding children to the mix.
The menus are seasonal, inspired by what is currently in abundance on the farm. We will do our best to make the menus inclusive of dietary restrictions as long as you let us know in advance. We don’t have time to add anything extra but we can often omit ingredients to accommodate your group.
Stay & Cook Weekends
Whether you are a novice cook or a serious practitioner, gathering in the kitchen with like minded folks is always a treat. Over the course of our weekend we include many different ingredients, techniques, and flavors, and there is plenty of time to answer questions and delve into our subjects. The farm is more productive than ever and provides the foundation of our menus. We send you home stimulated and inspired, with a rejuvenated sense of what it means to live the good life.
The weekend includes 2 hands-on meals, wine, recipes, and a minimum two nights stay in our cottages and room with a view. Guests help prepare and enjoy Saturday Lunch and Dinner or Saturday Dinner and Sunday Brunch. We start out both mornings with delicious coffee, biscuits or toast and jam and our apple juice.
Schedule
Often guests like to plan additional outings so it’s good to have an idea of the weekend’s schedule.
Check in is 3pm on Friday. We encourage you to make a reservation at a local restaurant for dinner. If you’re going to be on the late side be aware that things shut down early here and find a place to eat on the way. We love Diavola in Geyserville.
Saturday Lunch/Saturday Dinner Schedule:
Saturday 9-10am Breakfast is available in the potting shed
Saturday 10am Farm tour with Tim
Saturday 11am Morning cooking session and light lunch
Saturday 2pm-5pm Afternoon break
Saturday 5pm Evening cooking session, we aim to be at table by around 7:30pm.
Sunday 1pm checkout/departure. Sunday you will have plenty of time to go wine tasting, find a little lunch, and explore the beautiful Anderson Valley after breakfast
Saturday Dinner/Sunday Brunch Schedule:
Saturday 9-10am Breakfast is available in the potting shed
Saturday 10am Farm tour with Tim
Saturday 11-3 Break to go wine tasting, find a little lunch, and explore the beautiful Anderson Valley
Saturday 3pm Gather in the kitchen to cook our dinner. We aim to be at table by around 7:30pm.
Sunday 8:30am Light Breakfast is available in the potting shed
Sunday 9:30am Gather to prepare our brunch, aiming to sit around 11
Sunday 1pm checkout/departures
Rates
Cooking experience for a group of 8 people $3000
Price does not include required minimum 2 night stay in all 4 rooms
Contact us if you want to add up to 4 more people to your group for $375/person
Stay & Cook Midweek
Our Midweek offerings are a wonderful way to take a break in the middle of our busy lives to take pleasure in good food and good company. You can choose between a lunch class or a dinner class for a minimum of 8 people.
The lunch class is a great option for locals or those visiting for the day.
The dinner class requires your group to stay in all 4 of our guest rooms, but we waive the 2 night minimum.
Schedule
Lunch Class: Guests arrive at 10am to beginning cooking and we aim to sit down around 1pm.
Dinner Class: Overnight guests may check in by 2pm. We gather in the kitchen to cook at 3pm, aiming to sit down around 7pm.
Rates
Cooking experience for a group of 8 people $3000
Dinner Class requires adding minimum 1 night stay in all 4 rooms
Contact us if you want to add up to 4 more people to your group for $375/person