Wood-fired Pizza For Lunch

For the third year in a row, Cycle to Farm 2015 will offer handmade, wood-fired, artisan pizza for your dining pleasure at the Fabulous After Party. Yep, pretty much the best pizza you’ll ever have after a ride!

These pizzas will be made on site, with dough spinning through the air, and toppings selected from local farms. A blazing hot oven will be running all afternoon. Farm to Table? How about Farm to Wood-fired Oven, to Table!

Arguably one of the tastiest meals offered in a large group ride anywhere in the U.S., this is only possible because of three factors: a talented chef, access to amazing local ingredients, and the relatively small size of Cycle to Farm.

Because only 300 riders and 100 volunteers will join in the meal, and most of those 400 diners won’t arrive all at once — they’ll roll in at various times between 12 noon and 5 pm. Unlike a wedding, not everyone eats at once.

But it will still be grueling work for many hours for the chef and his crew.

Chef Mark Tomczak isn’t a cyclist, but he knows what they like to eat and he’s been serving it up for years now at his local restaurant, FRESH Wood Fired Pizza & Pasta. A frequent and popular location for re-fueling in Black Mountain after a ride.

Chef Mark and his wife Courtney Smith are not only long-time supporters of greenways, Cycle to Farm, and local farms — but they’re raising their family in this community. Many of their friends are customers, and many customers have become friends. They are admirable models of what it means to fully-participate in a community.

Yes, there will be plenty of large servings, fresh salad, and pasta. He’ll also have a gluten-free version of the pizza, for those so restricted.

On Saturday, July 18, you’ll get to meet Mark and Courtney, and be sure to tell them thanks for their contribution to our community!

About this blog entry: Jen Billstrom is the creator of Cycle to Farm®, a unique metric century (62 mile) group ride that uses local farms as rest stops. Farmers offer their product for sale, and Cycle to Farm volunteers transport purchases by the cyclists back to the Finish, where the community joins in a farm to table meal at the Fabulous After Party. The event promotes local farms and benefits the development of Greenways. This year the event is on Saturday, July 18 in Black Mountain. For more information, see CycleToFarm.org.