Have Dinner With Goats At This Farmstead Creamery In Illinois
By Elizabeth Crozier|Published May 06, 2019
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Elizabeth Crozier
Author
An Illinois transplant who grew up and went to school in Indiana for 22 years, Elizabeth holds a BFA in creative writing and has enjoyed traveling across the country and parts of Europe. She has visited half of the states, as well as parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and regularly travels home to the Hoosier State to see friends and family. With more than five years of writing experience, Elizabeth’s articles have been featured on several websites, and her poetry and short stories have been published in multiple literary journals.
The only thing better than a farm-to-table meal is a fresh meal on the farm, and there’s a creamery in Champaign, Illinois that lets you have that exact experience. The fresh farm dinners offered here will absolutely blow your mind, and you’ve got to try one out if you love good food and spending time in the country.
There’s nothing like this dining experience anywhere else in the state. Check it out:
Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery in central Illinois is a marvelous goat dairy farm that has been in operation since 2003. It is known for its homemade goats milk products as well as its Dinners on the Farm series.
This Grade A dairy farm is home to about 70 goats and eight acres of pasture. There are also an additional five acres for growing hay and two more acres of prairie land on-site. It strives to be a sustainable farm, and its herd is "Animal Welfare Approved" by A Greener World.
Now, about those fresh farm dinners. The creamery runs a Dinner on the Farm series throughout the year that allows patrons to enjoy a multi-course meal prepared by expert chefs that is unlike any dining experience in the Midwest.
This community-style, farm-to-table dinner only takes place one to three times each month, and a couple of the upcoming events are already sold out. Tickets generally cost between $80 and $100 per seat but are well worth the price.
A different chef is featured for each of the fresh farm dinners, and each comes from a popular Illinois restaurant, such as Girl and the Goat in Chicago and American Harvest Eatery in Springfield. The meals they prepare will utilize seasonal ingredients grown on the farm you're literally eating at.
Some meals include beer pairings while others begin with a special cocktail. Entrees change for each event but may include pastas, goat dishes, honey-butter fried chicken, lamb, pork, Italian-inspired meals, vegetarian meals, and so much more.
There are details about each event on the farm's website to let you know what type of cuisine to expect.
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No visit to Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery is complete without a tour. Visit with the goats and view the milking parlor to see where all the magic happens. You'll also get to walk the orchard and garden as well as sample some homemade products.
Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery is open Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. as well as Sunday between 1 a.m. and 4 p.m., and you can learn more about it and its dinners on its website or Facebook page.
Address: 4410 North Lincoln Avenue, Champaign, IL, 61822
