Heirloom Fire creates an unforgettable dining experience. Not just with their delicious, locally sourced dishes, but also in the intoxicating scents, sounds, and sights of their open air kitchen, where masterful meals are curated with fresh ingredients from farms in the local community. Menus are sustainably minded, crafted with seasonal foods, and cooked over an open hardwood flame. Based in The Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, Heirloom Fire designs fire-based, full-service catering for large and small events in New England, across the country, and abroad. We’re thankful and excited to be working with Heirloom Fire to create memorable events.
We talked to Owner/Founder James Gop of Heirloom Fire, about fresh food, vendor collaboration, and looking to the future.
Tell us a bit about Heirloom Fire! We love the experience you provide your guests and clients. Where did the idea come from to offer an open air kitchen?
The idea came from always having an appreciation for nature. The feeling you get when you come to an amazon vista or sunset was a feeling I wanted to replicate in a dining experience. What combines the outdoors and a meal better than the element of fire.
How far in advance should a client book you?
Minimum of 1 year, though we pride ourselves in being able to curate an experience wherever and whenever.
How do you embrace the community that you are hired to work in?
By procuring and using food that is sourced as close to the area as possible. As well as being able to experience everything the community has to offer outside of our working hours at the event, we love the opportunity to travel and find some place new to recommend to others.
We are so inspired by your mission. Food is the focus, food is the entertainment, and food is the decor. Wedding planners are accustomed to designing floor plans that incorporate bars, stations, and lounges as focal points. The kitchen is usually ‘back of house,’ but when we work with you, we design a plan that focuses on the open air kitchen that’s centrally located to both the cocktail hour and dinner space. What are you tips and recommendations for designing a party that will showcase your work?
Giving us the freedom to build the dining experience in and around the space, that will showcase the full potential of our services and the venue. Also entrusting us to curate a memorable experience, when given free reign our creativity truly is endless.
We understand that you love to collaborate with the local farms. How does this direct your menu planning process?
The foundation of a great menu is great product. Each menu is written with seasonality in mind. We want to make sure that we are working with the regions best farmers, farmers that have the utmost pride in their livestock and produce because when you start with the best how can you go wrong?
What is one piece of advice you would give to a potential client?
Hire a planner and trust the professionals to do their jobs.
Where do you see Heirloom Fire headed in the future? Any upcoming projects you can share?
Heirloom Fire is ever evolving, we are always assessing what we can not only do better but what we can do to be ahead of the game. Having the ability to bring our kitchen anywhere has given us the opportunity to curate unimaginable experiences for each individual client. Headed into 2020 you can be on the lookout for more dining experiences open to the public. Looking ahead even further, we are really looking for a location to call our own. Somewhere to evolve and grow with us, a potential venue space, definitely an area to farm and forage, a blank canvas for us to continue our best practice, sustainability.
Posted Under: Uncategorized