Reservations to the World’s Best Outdoor Dinner Party Open Today

Outstanding in the Field returns for its 21st global tour

March 20, 2019 9:00 am

You’ll have time to enjoy your meal later. For now, read quickly and act fast (like, before noon).

All tickets to Outstanding in the Field, the roving, communal, open-air dinner series that began in 1999, go on sale today at 9 a.m. PST/12 p.m. EST. They’re gonna sell out almost immediately, and for good reason.

The idea behind OITF is for food lovers to “gather at one long table to share the most fundamental and universal human conversation: a meal.” That table is usually somewhere quite special; each OITF dinner is sourced entirely from the land where the dinner is held, be it a farm, ranch or vineyard (or, this year, a Swedish castle).

As for the chefs: they’re locals, too. And the menu is secret until you sit down.

Your only job is to bring your own plate, sit, eat and learn. Expect the conversation to flow freely: there’s wine paired with each course and you’ll eat family style (but don’t bring children). Do note they can only accommodate “limited dietary requests.”

Expect to spend about 4-5 hours at the event. Though this year, maybe more: a partnership with Under Canvas allows you to turn your dinner into a full night’s glamping experience. (Side note: For the sixth year, OITF is also offering a decidedly quiet Coachella VIP experience.)

Tickets start at $265 per person, which includes gratuity. All tickets go on sale today, March 20th, and the dinners themselves begin May 4th in Happy Valley Farm in Santa Cruz (where the dinner series began 20 years ago), and will hit spots all over the U.S., Canada and Europe before ending November 17th.

Good news if you miss today’s meal plan: a winter tour goes on sale November 5th.

Photo: Outstanding in the Field

MEET US AT YOUR INBOX. FIRST ROUND'S ON US.

Join America's Fastest Growing Spirits Newsletter THE SPILL. Unlock all the reviews, recipes and revelry — and get 15% off award-winning La Tierra de Acre Mezcal.