Chef Lordfer Lalicon’s modus operandi is farm-centric.
And if Kaya‘s Michelin Green Star doesn’t tell you that, the local color on the plates at this James Beard Award finalist certainly will.
Lalicon sources local, which means Central Florida growers including Frog Song Organics, Sugar Top Farms, Kelly Seafood, farmed oysters from quick-drive locations like New Smyrna Beach’s Mosquito Lagoon and, of course, Orlando urban gem Everoak Farm, where he and farmers Mike and Nikki Garcia are set to host guests for an all-new — and of course, all-local — Outstanding in the Field farm dinner.
Founded in 1999, these beautiful Outstanding in the Field events connect diners to the places that feed them, setting up tables in orchards, at the seaside and amid the rows of America’s lush farms, showcasing the sources of where the fresh foods they enjoy come from.
Guests at the Jan. 20 event will enjoy dinner on site at Everoak, a beautiful, three-acre, family-run farm in the heart of Orlando, along with a tour from owner/operators Mike and Nikki Garcia, who grow a wide variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables using modern techniques and regenerative practices.
“I was so excited because I’ve been following Outstanding in the Field for years and was excited that Everoak was considered as a location,” said Mike Garcia, who was contacted last year by the company following their under-the-radar visit.
That excitement extends to talking with his upcoming guests about the ethos of Everoak during an extensive tour.
Outstanding in the Field features beautiful al fresco dinners at farms around the country. This one was at Scribe Ranch, near Sonoma. (Courtesy Outstanding in the Field)
“They’ll learn about the practices we implement and our rhyme and reason for farming,” he says.
“I’ll talk about all our different systems and practices, and how at the farm we embrace cyberecology and through that we do our biointensive market farming, our agroforestry and our poultry program.”
The Garcias have designed Everoak as an agricultural ecosystem, he explains. Guests will get a look at what they’re doing to go beyond sustainability and actually regenerate the land. Bonus: This time of year, their market garden is in full swing, which means lots of goodies to see growing.
This Outstanding in the Field dinner, at North Arm Farm near Whistler, welcomed a large table of guests for a farm-centric feast. Guests at Orlando’s Everoak can expect a similar setting, save for the mountains. (Courtesy Outstanding in the Field)
“Cabbages, collards, cauliflower, broccoli, bok choy, ” Garcia rattles off. “They’ll see different herbs in the garden blocks and … a bunch of support and fruit trees like banana, avocado, mango, citrus, lychee. They’ll see the complex systems we’ve been developing. They’ll see our small laying flocks, and learn how we raise chickens for meat, as well, and how poultry has been integrated into the systems that regenerate the land. We’ll talk about our composting systems, too.”
All this, plus a James Beard/Michelin-level dinner from Lalicon, a fervent user of Everoak, who’s planning a “Filipino farm forward” dinner, featuring Florida farmed oysters, a mushroom sisig tart, and palabok deviled eggs before guests sit down to a multi-course meal in the farm’s open air.
James Beard-nominated chef Lordfer Lalicon of Kaya is planning a “Filipino farm-forward” menu for the upcoming Outstanding in the Field dinner at Everoak Farm. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)
Pairings are included in the $385 per person price.
“I love these events because of what they represent,” says Lalicon. “Working with farms, working with chefs who care about farms and putting these things in front of guests.
“You can see this at our restaurant, but being at the farm helps people to really see what it takes to bring these items to the table and, in the case of Everoak, all the hard work they put into their beautiful farm and practices.
Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
If you go
For more information/tickets, visit shop.outstandinginthefield.com/products/january-20-2026-everoak-farm. And for other farm dinners at Everoak (2335 Carrington Drive in Orlando), check out gofarmhand.com/shop/everoak-farm#category–farm-events.