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A Summer Repast at the Farm

On a weekend afternoon, Pardis and Frank Stitt gather friends around the table to partake in the flavors of the season, many of which have been harvested from their Alabama farm

We visit Pardis and Frank Stitt on their Alabama farm for a summer repast

“Come on in; we’re so glad you’re here,” says Pardis Stitt, with a gracious and engaging smile. It’s that kind of welcome that Birmingham locals and foodies from across the country have come to appreciate when they flock to any of the four restaurants she owns with her husband, Frank, the much-lauded chef who put Birmingham on the culinary map more than 30 years ago with Highlands Bar and Grill. However, today’s arrivals are all close friends who have procured perhaps the most coveted “reservation” of all—an invitation to summer lunch at Paradise Farm, the Stitts’ property southeast of town in Harpersville, Alabama. With a tray of refreshing drinks in hand and Fiona, the couple’s amiable dog, by her side, Pardis waves everyone into the farmhouse.

Pardis greets guests at the door with a tray of aptly named “Paradise Cay” cocktails (a concoction of blackberries, rum, and ginger beer), while Fiona adds her welcome with a hospitable wag of her tail.

Frank, not surprisingly, is in the kitchen, moving seamlessly from muddling more blackberries for the next round of cocktails to chopping peppers and tomatoes for the main course, all with the efficiency and precision of a true master at work. But today’s mood in the air is of the decidedly laid-back variety. When you’re accustomed to hosting and feeding well over a thousand guests every week at Highlands, Bottega and its adjacent cafe, and the charmingly named Chez Fonfon, well, entertaining a small party of six is a relative breeze—as welcome as the one that drifts from the fan on the screened porch, where they’ll be dining this afternoon.

“We’ve always appreciated and continue to support our area farmers, but when you actually out there doing the work, you’re less likely to be wasteful and are much more respectful of what they do and what you’re cooking with.”—Frank Stitt

While Frank attends to last-minute menu preparations, Pardis encourages everyone to hop on a utility vehicle for a quick tour of the farm and a walk through an allée of raised beds to see what vegetables and flowers are at their peak. The 55-acre property (with an additional 15 acres that surround their farmhouse just down the road) serves as much more than a getaway for the couple in their all-too-rare downtime. “About 15 years ago we started thinking about finding a place that would not only provide us with ingredients for the restaurants but would also be a laboratory of learning for us and for the staff,” explains Frank, whose cuisine is renowned for its marriage of freshly grown, Southern flavors with classic, European techniques.

Now, several days a week, you can find one of the Stitts or a member or two of the kitchen staff working alongside the farm’s caretakers to plant, tend, and ultimately harvest the herbs, tomatoes, okra, beans, greens, roses, nasturtiums, and such. No matter the season, it seems that something is always ripe and ready to fuel creative inspiration for the restaurants. “Being a part of the process changes you,” says Frank. “We’ve always appreciated and continue to support our area farmers, but when you’re actually out there doing the work, you’re less likely to be wasteful and are much more respectful of what they do and what you’re cooking with.”

summer repast

Handwritten menu cards at each place setting describe the delicious courses to come.

Back on the porch, Pardis has laid a table that reflects her detail-oriented, sophisticated-but-unpretentious aesthetic. Handwritten menu cards announce the delectable meal to come; garden flowers nestled in soup bowls parade down the table; and antique silver mingles with striped linens and French bistro glasses, much of which has been collected with the help of Patrick Dunne, a friend and the proprietor of Lucullus, a New Orleans shop that specializes in culinary antiques.

“I’m a planner, a put-it-on-paper kind of person,” Pardis says, with a laugh. “I like the platters labeled with what will go on them, and as much done beforehand as we can. Frank is about à la minute. So we come at things a bit differently but ultimately make it work.”

The friends gathered around today’s table, not to mention anyone who has dined at their restaurants, would enthusiastically agree. From the first taste of a juicy fig paired with prosciutto to the last spoonful of cantaloupe sorbet, the Stitts make it work beautifully indeed.

table with arrangement of cattails, jar with arrangement of figs and grapes and pitcher of okra, tomatoes, and poppy pods

Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner

When Pardis and Frank Stitt entertain at Paradise Farm, its bounty provides not only sustenance but also decoration. On a side table, cattails, crowder peas, beans, and figs mingle with an antique silver caddy filled with bottles of rosé.

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stitt salad of figs, peaches, prosciutto, and mint

Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner

stitt quiche on counter with fresh vegetables

Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner

cantaloupe sorbet in silver coupes

Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner

A simple but mouthwatering platter of local ingredients includes figs, prosciutto, Chilton County peaches, and goat cheese from nearby Stone Hollow Farmstead. Get the Summer Peach, Fig, and Prosciutto Salad recipe.

A ratatouille quiche made with eggs from the Stitts’ chickens. Get the Ratatouille Quiche with Arugula and Olives recipe.

A cantaloupe sorbet served in silver coupes found at Lucullus Antiques round out the menu. Get the Cantaloupe Sorbet recipe.  

stitt blueberry cocktail

Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner

Centerpiece arrangement of hydrangeas and other summer flowers

Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner

jars of honey on floral tray

Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner

Pardis and Frank created a cocktail made with blackberries, rum, and ginger beer. Get the “Paradise Cay” Blackberry Ginger Cocktail recipe.

Chad Miller, who creates arrangements for the restaurants, amasses garden flowers in ceramic bowls most often used for soup. “I love using unexpected containers as vases,” says Pardis.

Each guest leaves with a jar of honey from the farm’s beehives.

Produced and Written by Karen Carroll | Photography by Becky Luigart-Stayner

Phoebe and Jim Howard stand in a doorway.

Get more of Stitt’s recipes in his cookbook, Frank Stitt’s Southern Table: Recipes and Gracious Traditions from Highlands Bar and Grill (Artisan, 2004)

 

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