When Bryan Horton and Lindsay Ungewitter tied the knot on October 10, the menu for their reception was born out of Bryan’s passion--and Lindsay’s growing appreciation--for local food. They treated friends and family to a feast almost entirely local and seasonal. “I love that what I’m growing, eating and selling at the market is from my backyard. It’s part of me,” Bryan said.
Bryan lives and farms at
Fickle Creek Farm in Efland, N.C., and sells the farm’s eggs, meat and produce each week at the Western Wake Farmers’ Market.
The Menu
Take a look at this mouth-watering menu. Appetizers included an assortment of cheeses, such as chevre, chicken bridge (manchego style) and Bryan’s favorite, Bloomin' Decadence --a camembert-style cow’s milk cheese that oozes at room temperature. Guests also enjoyed the last of the season’s figs, grilled pepper and onion sausage, and chorizo meatballs in tomato sauce.
For dinner, they feasted on pork shoulder roast with roasted radishes and fall vegetables, roasted chicken with herbs and garlic; kale and mustard greens with smoked ham hocks, pork bratwurst with peppers, onions, tomatoes and basil; roasted sweet potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes; late summer ratatouille; roasted pears, apples and sun chokes; a salad of baby greens that Bryan grew with a local honey vinaigrette, skillet cornbread with pork cracklins; cucumber radish salad; and pasta with tomato and fresh mozzarella.
Claire Leland, the couple’s friend and an amazing baker, according to Bryan, made a giant cupcake for the couple to cut into and a variety of cupcakes for the guests. Bryan’s favorite was the sweet potato spice cupcake!
Where Goodness Comes From
All the ingredients, with the exception of salt, pepper, olive oil and a few gluten-free items because of Bryan’s wheat allergy, were grown locally. Bryan estimated that 60 percent of the food at the reception, including all the meat, was from Fickle Creek. Other WWFM market vendors contributed to the local fare as well.
Bryan visited
Hillsborough Cheese Co. for mozzarella cheese made two days before the wedding and the aged cheeses to round out the appetizer selections. He selected shitake mushrooms from
Spain Farm, honey from
The Farm Fairy, grits and cornmeal from
Muddy Dog Roasting Co., and Wrenn Farms and Nursery’s apples and pears, which were especially important for the wedding’s pear theme. As Bryan said, “We are the perfect pair.”
Bryan dug up the sweet potatoes from the fields next to his home the week of the wedding, and Lindsey grew all the flowers for the ceremony and reception. Her friends and family gathered the night before the wedding for a party to make the bouquets and boutonnieres.
Gifts for the Bride and Groom
In an especially nice touch, gifts from friends were local too. The music was a gift from the couple’s friend Geoff Berry, and the catering was courtesy of Chef Chris Holloway of
A Southern Season in Chapel Hill. Chef Holloway and Bryan became friends one winter when Bryan, who is a trained chef, was working at the gourmet market.
Bryan had proposed to Lindsay at the
Bed & Breakfast at Laurel Ridge in Siler City, N.C., so they decided to get married there. Owner David Simmons, who is in the process of bringing all local foods to his B&B kitchen, graciously allowed Bryan to bring spinach, peppers, onions, sweet potatoes, eggs, bacon and sausage from Fickle Creek for breakfast. The tasty breakfast included bacon cooked with brown sugar, cumin and cayenne pepper. “It was like spicy candy—delicious!” Bryan said.
Sharing the Love of Local
Lindsay, a teacher at a Montessori school in Hillsborough, said, “Everyone who knows us knows how passionate Bryan is about local food. It was really neat that we could say he grew it and he put his energy into it. Often the bride handles so much, but Bryan’s energy and added input on the food made the day really special.”
Congratulations to the newlyweds. We thank them for sharing their local story with us and wish them many years of happiness and good eating!
