The husband and wife team behind culinary destination The Old Red Barn in Leduc, Alta., are in the business of connection. Building a bridge between farmers, consumers, and chefs is at the heart of what they do.
Melissa and Matthew Schur had a vision and started clearing out the old barn on Melissa's family dairy farm in 2016. By 2017, the barn was transformed, and they were hosting their first farm-to-table dinners featuring ingredients grown by local farmers and prepared by feature chefs.
"We got this idea from the fact that my husband has worked in restaurants and hospitality for the majority of his career and the barn is actually located on my family dairy farm," says Melissa. "We were trying to figure out how we could merge our two passions with food and restaurants as well as farming and agriculture. That’s where this concept of farm-to-table dinners and agritourism came to be.”
It was no small feat to transform an old barn built in the 1950s into a modern culinary experience but with passion, drive, and help from chef Brad Smoliak, they pulled it off. Now, The Old Red Barn is an award-winning agritourism destination that serves up delicious locally-sourced food.
“At every dinner we host a different farm that comes down and talks to the guests about where their food product came from for the night and they usually bring some products to sell at the end of the night too," says Melissa. "We’re trying to teach people to source farm direct and to support local farmers in our region.”
As much as possible, The Old Red Barn likes to feature producers from within a 100km radius, keeping things hyper-local. Melissa sees people becoming more and more removed from their food sources and wants to connect people to farmers in their area.
The concept of farm-to-table is not a new one, but it takes on new meaning for fourth-generation dairy farmer Melissa.
"If I can’t tell you which farm the food on your plate is from, I’m not going to serve it to you because from farm to table to us means that I need to respect where that ingredient came from, and from which farmers. I’m really passionate about that.”
In 2019, the couple received a grant from Travel Alberta to put in a commercial kitchen and washroom facilities. According to Melissa, this allowed them to really amplify their food program when the project was completed. In 2021, The Old Red Barn started hosting farm-to-flame dinners as well. This is a similar concept to farm-to-table, but everything is cooked over an open flame, adding some flair to the traditional dinners.
Note: This article is an agricultural feature that was part of Black Press Media's Fall's Bounty: Salute to Central Alberta Farmers and Harvest special supplement that was published in print on Sept. 25.
The mission of The Old Red Barn is to "to be an industry leader in rural tourism by connecting consumers to local farmers through experiences that increase public trust in food." They are telling the story of each farmer they partner with, one plate at a time.
One day, the couple hopes to save enough to buy their own farm and work full-time on their passion project. While the business is currently seasonal, the dream is to one day run the program year-round and quit their day jobs.
The Old Red Barn's season will be wrapping up with a final fall harvest feast on September 28, featuring beef from Blue Ridge Farms and produce from Grey Arrow Farms. They will reopen for their 2025 season next year.
