By Nicole Bowman-Layton

Annual Chamber of Commerce fundraiser celebrates regional agriculture while supporting programs that serve the community

GATESVILLE — Outside, a gentle October rain fell over Gates County. Inside Jubilant Fields, chandeliers sparkled, music filled the air and guests gathered beneath strands of twinkling lights for an evening celebrating local food, farms and community.

A gallery of photos appears throughout the story and at the end.

Approximately 80 people attended the Gates County Chamber of Commerce’s annual Farm-to-Table Dinner and Auction on Saturday, Oct. 17. The event featured a multi-course meal built around regional ingredients while raising money for programs that serve local residents.

The evening’s theme, “Gather. Give. Grow.,” captured its purpose. Guests came together to celebrate agriculture, support community programs and enjoy the company of friends and neighbors. And there were a lot of local notables at the function supporting a good cause.

A little country elegance

For one evening, a former horse barn at Jubilant Fields became an elegant dining room. White fabric draped the ceiling, chandeliers and strings of lights illuminated long wooden tables, and natural grasses, driftwood, oyster shells and woven placemats reflected the area’s rustic and coastal character.

Coral-colored napkins and flickering candles added warmth to the setting.

The barn was once used by Jackie Bundy’s father for racehorses. It has since become an event venue, though its wooden stalls and original character remain.

Guests mingled over appetizers as musician Wayne Campbell played the keyboard. The spread included salmon, oyster shooters and caprese-inspired bites served in salami shells.

Much of the transformation was the work of Miranda Lane, whose decorating ideas have become a familiar part of the annual event.

A menu rooted in the region

Gates County native Chef Kyle Hobbs returned to prepare the dinner with chefs Anthony Allen and Michaela Nelson, along with another culinary team member introduced as Andy.

Hobbs, who works at The Anchorage in Greenville, South Carolina, developed the menu and sourced ingredients from farms, fisheries and businesses across the region. Harper’s Table in Suffolk, Virginia, provided kitchen space during the week leading up to the event, allowing the team to prepare ingredients before bringing the dishes to Jubilant Fields.

The meal began with Outer Banks shrimp salad served on Steve Kenney’s milk bread, accompanied by lemon aioli, pickled Sunbury apple, poppy seed butter, crispy sweet potato and chives.

A salad of local lettuce followed, paired with buttermilk dressing, an Eure Farm egg, crispy Layden’s ham, ember-roasted tomato and watermelon radish.

The pork course featured Spence Fields pork loin with a 32 North Coffee rub, roasted fig jam, Gatesville pumpkin purée, Grandma Hobb’s lace cornbread and a maple-mustard gastrique.

Smoked North Carolina trout was paired with blue crab, Albemarle grits, tomato-sherry beurre blanc, butterbeans, field pea relish and Tidewater benne.

The final savory course was slow-roasted Lane Angus brisket with a sticky apple cider glaze, turnip-and-potato gratin, autumn root vegetable slaw and smoked onion jus.

Dessert featured Tony’s cinnamon-raisin pound cake with cookie butter streusel, fig leaf oil, mountain grape compote and burnt crème anglaise.

Together, the courses showed how familiar regional ingredients could be presented in imaginative ways without losing their connection to home.

As the meal concluded, organizers called the chefs forward for a round of applause. Hobbs shared the credit with his team.

“You meet people whenever you’re working in restaurants. They just kind of stick with you wherever you go,” he said.

He added that several team members had worked together before and returned to help with the dinner.

“They work as hard as I do,” Hobbs said.

Supporting neighbors

Although the food was the evening’s centerpiece, the fundraiser’s larger purpose was supporting community programs.

Bundy, who is vice chair of the chamber’s board and helped organize the dinner, reminded guests that their participation supported programs serving some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.

“You are sponsoring the chamber’s efforts to support our community,” she said.

Proceeds benefit the Open Wide Backpack Ministry, Meals on Wheels and the Gates County Chamber of Commerce.

The Open Wide Backpack Ministry provides food for students experiencing food insecurity. Bundy said she and school board member Sally Ryan were among a small group that started the ministry approximately 15 years ago.

The program sends backpacks filled with food home with participating students on Fridays, helping ensure they have something to eat over the weekend when school meals are unavailable.

Meals on Wheels provides meals to older residents. The chamber uses its share of the proceeds to support local businesses through networking opportunities, educational programs and community activities.

The evening’s fundraising continued with both silent and live auctions featuring donated experiences and items, including paintings, jewelry, themed gift baskets, a decorative boat created for the event, a private winter oyster gathering at Jubilant Fields, wicker furniture set, and a five-course dinner with wine pairings at the Angus Barn. Two $200 Angus Barn gift cards were also donated as door prizes.

The auction brought its own moment of humor. Before bidding began, guests were asked to keep their conversations down. Bundy recalled that some attendees had enjoyed themselves so much the previous year that they had not realized an auction was taking place.

A community effort

The dinner depended on contributions from businesses and individuals throughout the region.

First Team Auto served as the platinum sponsor, while the OBICI Healthcare Foundation was recognized as a gold sponsor. Additional sponsors included agricultural businesses, financial institutions and other local organizations.

More than 20 vendors and contributors were represented, from farms and fisheries to event services and small businesses.

The event also grew from the previous year, when organizers said approximately 70 to 75 guests attended.

During the evening, Chamber Board Member Suzanne Eason Stallings thanked the committee members, sponsors, volunteers, bartenders and chamber members who spent hours preparing the venue and meal.

Before dinner, Bundy offered a blessing honoring the people responsible for bringing food to the table.

“We bless the hands that cleared the fields, nurtured the crops, cared for the animals, and lovingly prepared this meal for us tonight,” she said.

She also encouraged guests to carry the evening’s spirit beyond the barn.

“As we reflect on the mission of tonight’s charity recipients, inspire us to keep loving, supporting, and serving our neighbors well beyond this table,” Bundy said.

For a few hours on a rainy October evening, Gates County farmers, chefs, business owners and neighbors gathered to enjoy the bounty of their region.

The meal may have been the most visible part of the evening, but its lasting purpose was simple: helping make sure more people in the community have food on their tables, too.