At nearly $600 for two people, this farm dinner did not deliver a culinary or service experience…read morecommensurate with its premium price. There were genuine positives: the family and staff were warm, the musicians delightful, the tables beautifully styled, and the chef industrious and jovial. Nevertheless, the appetizers were sparse, the wine selection modest, and there was no table water or coffee service. No one asked whether we needed anything, and the meal was essentially buffet-style and self-service. As a Louisiana-raised woman who knows her way around fried chicken, I found the principal offering decidedly underwhelming.
The event had not sold out when my fiancé and I were contacted at the last minute. We accepted and paid full price. Her subsequent correspondence nevertheless conveyed the peculiar impression that our attendance had somehow been a favor extended to us. We were paying customers--not complimentary guests--and I found that attitude difficult to comprehend.
Even so, the disappointing dinner alone would not have prompted this review.
Afterward, having already contributed many hours of professional photography that the farm used in its marketing, I proposed an entirely philanthropic collaboration. I offered, without compensation, my photography, editing, curating, exhibition design, installation, time, resources, and labor to create temporary displays of large-format floral art within the farm's existing dinner-event space. The artwork could be sold or auctioned, with proceeds above production costs benefiting charitable causes that we would select together in advance.
I expected either interest or a gracious "No, thank you."
Instead, the owner responded, "how presumptuous of you," and said the proposal added to her "already overflowing plate"--despite my explicit offer to undertake the work myself. She was unquestionably entitled to decline. What disheartened me was the unnecessarily castigating and demeaning manner in which a sincere offer of generosity was received.
Her response struck me as profoundly ungracious, disproportionate to the facts of my original email, and dismissive of the considerable time, professional effort, and resources I had offered in good faith. Philanthropy creates no obligation, but an offer of service should not invite rebuke.
I left disappointed by the dinner. I was considerably more disheartened by the treatment I received afterward as a former full-paying customer. Unless and until there is a genuine understanding about respectful treatment, I will neither do business with nor otherwise support this farm.
