The 2012 G&G Secret Society Weekend

A few weeks ago, more than a hundred members of the Garden & Gun Club gathered at Tennessee’s Blackberry Farm, in the Smoky Mountains, for our third annual Secret Society Weekend. Over three jam-packed days, we celebrated the best of Southern food, music, sport, and art, bringing the pages of G&G to life in high style.

This year’s standout events included a conversation with sculptor Grainger McKoy, a wine tasting with vintner Jim Clendenen, a fly-fishing excursion, an afternoon of sporting clays, and intimate musical performances by Jessie Baylin and Jason Isbell. And then, of course, there was the food.

From the first night’s harvest feast, including Chef Joseph Lenn’s mother’s recipe for squash casserole, to Saturday’s brunch in the garden, complete with biscuits and all the fixings (plus some stellar bacon-infused Bloody Marys), each meal showcased Lenn’s mastery of Southern cuisine. For the finale dinner, special guest chefs Erik Anderson and Josh Habiger, of the Catbird Seat in Nashville, turned out an inspired six-course meal that began with crispy “hot” chicken skins and ended with charred oak ice cream with bourbon, vanilla, and cherries.

Click here to see our photo scrapbook of the weekend’s highlights. And if you’d like to attend next year’s event, click here for information on joining the Garden & Gun Club’s Secret Society. We’d love to have you.