The Inn at Dos Brisas, the Relais & Chateaux property and equestrian center in Washington, Texas, has one-upped itself in the culinary department. The ranch resort has expanded its USDA-certified organic farm to 42 acres, nearly doubling its agricultural footprint.
The fruits — and vegetables and herbs — of these labors end up in the kitchen of the onsite restaurant, the only Forbes Travel Guide five-star restaurant in Texas and one of the 10 best farm-to-table restaurants in the world. The farm is divided into 19 acres dedicated to row crop production and 23 acres for hay production. Couple that with the 7,000-square-foot greenhouse, and the inn grows more than 400 varieties of produce, 80 percent of which are heirloom.
Currently the farm is harvesting peppers, tomatoes, melons, squash, okra, strawberries, garlic, onions, leeks, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, heirloom tomatoes and pumpkins. Executive chef Zachary Ladwig uses these foods to create daily, garden-centric menus that showcase the purity and simplicity of what’s in season.
Ladwig can thank Lisa Roese for the bounty; the Texas-born agriculturalist is the general manager of the farm. Roese collaborates with Ladwig to plan and harvest year-round produce.
“Over the years, I’ve had the honor of working alongside and learning best practices from a variety of farmers with different specialties, from greenhouse growing to micros growing to outside tomato farming,” she said in a release. “I’m thrilled to bring this knowledge to life and to provide the resort’s executive chef with the freshest ingredients to craft authentic farm-to-table meals for guests.”
Speaking of guests, in addition to dining at the restaurant, they can visit the farm and pick fresh items to cook in a private class led by Ladwig, who shows students how to prepare meals over an open fire known as the “cowboy cauldron.”
The idyllic Inn at Dos Brisas, one of our picks for the 10 best hotels in Texas, sits on 313 acres in the southern foothills of the Texas Hill Country. It has only nine Spanish-style haciendas and casitas, accommodating a grand total of 28 guests. In addition to the award-winning culinary experiences, visitors can enjoy horseback riding, bass fishing, cycling and clay target shooting.
Chef Zachary Ladwig (middle) also leads cooking classes at the Inn at Dos Brisas.
