Photo Credit: Kitty Leaken from the Santa Fe New Mexican
In opening this 2020 season at Owl Peak Farm, we again acknowledge Felipe Ortega’s philosophy of the ‘inter-relatedness of all things,’ a ‘debt’ he owed to everything that surrounded him, from the clay with which he made his pots, to the flour with which he baked his bread. He made this ‘indebtedness’ into a principle guiding his life.
It was here in La Madera that the spirit of ‘pay-as-you-can’ found support with Felipe Ortega and C.C. Culver. We started Friday Night Dinners keeping this sensibility in mind- to run it on a donation/or honor basis. This idea has grown with Linda’s Coffee Stop at the Cantina and Lunch and Dinner at Dora’s .
There was a welcoming kindness that Felipe always offered, everyone was welcome to his house and to eat at his table. There was a lightness, humor, worldliness, and a tremendous spirit which played a pivotal role in bringing people together. His grace and respect towards people, culture, and food is our legacy in ‘Dramadera’ and our seed to nurture year after year.
