Heritage Tavern

In 2012, we hosted a “Picnic at the Farm” dinner at Cress Spring Farm and Bakery in Blue Mounds as a fundraiser for REAP Food Group. We worked with Micah Nicholes and Chef Dan Fox, who, at the time, were raising heritage pigs on the farm. Dan used the bakery’s wood-fired oven to roast one of them to perfection. I’ll never forget the moment he emerged from the building, triumphant, carrying the pig on a wooden board across the yard to the dinner tent. It was glorious.

That moment represented part of what we have been trying to do through the magazine over the past decade—create meaningful experiences to connect eaters with the source of their food and, in turn, inspire them to vote with their food dollars. In this case, it was as farm-to-table as it gets.

From day one of Edible Madison, we have admired Chef Dan’s work ethic and the continued growth of his business and mission impact. When he opened Heritage Tavern the year after that fundraiser dinner, we fell in love with the restaurant’s cozy yet elevated atmosphere and balance of comforting pub-style and thoughtfully curated farm-to-table fare.

We had the good fortune to go behind the scenes in Chef Dan’s kitchen recently, and it was no surprise to find there a tight team with high energy, working together gracefully and using every inch of their small space wisely. The team was quiet and focused. Each member knew exactly what to do, with only the occasional direction given to support the orchestration.

On this particular evening, they were executing not only regular dinner service, but also a wine pairing dinner for a group of guests. The level of creativity and flavors that came through in each course was incredible, the presentation was knock-your-socks off beautiful, and the team’s talent, love for each other and humble nature was palpable.

It was electric to witness it all come together—each plate making its final stop at Chef Dan’s warmly lit, butcher block station overlooking the front of house where he carefully made final touches before sending it out to the table. This is the spot where time sort of stops and his artistic vision manifests, sprinkled with kind words about his amazing team and the farms where he sources his ingredients.