The Woodlands at Cooper Farm: Chef Dinner Series Featuring Nude Dude Food

What is better than hanging outside on a crisp fall evening by a crackling fire with a glass of wine? Well, throw in a historic farm, a friendly crowd and a multi-course chef-prepared dinner and it gets even better.

Last weekend we attended an event that was part of the Chef Dinner Series at The Woodlands at Cooper Farm located in Otis, Indiana (just outside of Westville). The Woodlands is a venue for weddings and other events established by Natalie Cooper on a farm that has been in her family for about seven decades with some cool buildings dating back to the 1880s, when it operated as a dairy farm.

Rustic farm buildings are adorned with strings of twinking lights, making it sparkle like a scene from a rustic, rural fairy tale. 

The dinner we attended was one that was part of a Chef Dinner Series with Chefs Ryan and Seth of Nude Dude Food. They're a Chicago chef duo that I've been following for a while and I was excited to see this lovely property and enjoy a meal made by these amazing chefs.

We started off with wine and a board of their famous sourdough focaccia with some meats, cheese and fruit. I loved that real china plates were used throughout the event, which added a special touch. We enjoyed them in the dim, sparkling light of strands hung throughout the courtyard.

Next we made our way over to our seats where we were welcomed by owner, Natalie Cooper, and introduced to the Nude Dude Food crew. The table settings were lovely and the tables themselves were gorgeous.

I'm a big salad girl and I had one of my favorite salads of the year as the first course - it included delicata squash, pomegranate and toasted peptitas over greens with agave balsamic.

Next up was braised cabbage and radicchio with apple cider glaze and toasted einkorn berries and black garlic aioli.

The entree was beef short rib with cajun butter, roasted parsnip and purple sweet potato puree.

The grounds were lovely, especially in the glow of all the carefully-placed light on the property.

We had the perfect little finish to our meal - a caramel apple tartlet with vanilla bean marscapone and sunflower seed brittle.

Find out more about the venue at cooperfarmindiana.com.