The long and winding road led past pens of turkeys, flocks of pecking chickens, grazing sheep and baby lambs, newly-sown crops, thriving potato plants, through a gate with the warning that it was electrified, on up a weed-lined dirt track and into the temporary glamour of a marquee filled with beautifully set tables, as befits a gourmet event.

Slowly, guests filled the wind-teased structure, each as hungry as the next — and small wonder, because what lay ahead was a champagne brunch, to use the popular phrase, “taken to another level”. Not for this crowd the predictable brunch fare of basic salad stuff, recycled potatoes embalmed in mayonnaise, wafer-thin cold cuts, corn niblets vinagrette, cold pasta and the like.

Instead, this was a Bermuda Gourmet Getaway experience, and the venue was Wadson’s Farm on St. Luke’s Pond Road, where so many of their organic, supremely fresh ingredients — from lamb to eggs, chicken and vegetables — would be worked into imaginative, superbly prepared dishes by chefs Derek Myers and Saman Pathi of the Barracuda Grill, and Justin Leboe and Victor Barry of Waterloo House.

Dishes like goat cheese frittata with banana almond rum hollandaise, poached Bermuda wahoo with escabeche organic vegetables and coriander cream, chicken liver parfait, cinnamon and sugar grilled winter melon infused with rosemary, Bermuda honey and gorgonzola crumble, cassava bake chourico sausage with caramelised onions, gruy|0xe8|re cheese, cassava pie, and grilled tomato chutney. Yes, and even “uptown” mac and cheese.

Preparing the palate for these treats were glasses of fresh orange juice, champagne, and mimosas (champagne and orange juice), regularly and deftly served by a bevy of swift and silent wait staff.

Red and white Californian wine — organic of course — and a variety of sinfully delicious, picture-perfect desserts rounded off the meal.

In something akin to an extreme makeover, a basic farm building was transformed into Buffet Central, with brief, new friendships blossoming among the lines of patiently queuing diners.

The $79-a-head event attracted people from all walks of life — artists, business tycoons, retirees, office types and ladies who brunch among them — with Bermuda residents definitely predominating despite this being a Department of Tourism-driven concept.

A wonderfully down-to-earth speech by farmer Tom Wadson revealed, among other things: that his farm is currently celebrating three decades of organic farming; the arrival of more newborn lambs that very day (presumably replacing those so recently consumed); tributes to his wife Nancy, the chefs et al; and finally a reminder to reserve one of the unsuspecting turkeys currently basking in the sub-tropical sunshine for one’s Christmas groaning board.

When all was done, reaction to the Champagne Brunch was universally positive.

“Outstanding. Good company and great food,” said Margot.

“Different to the average brunch. Great taste. I will definitely make it an annual event,” said another.

In fact, Steve thought that the food was “even better than last year”.

“It was fabulous. I have no criticisms at all, except maybe that the lamb could have had more spunk,” he said.

Sheilagh pronounced the entire Epicurean adventure “wonderful, a nice way to start Sunday morning.” In fact, she thought it should be a weekly event.

Visiting French-born chef Jean-Louis Gerin, a Department of Tourism invitee, was savouring the whole Gourmet Getaway experience, of which the brunch was but one chapter.

“This is an opportunity you don’t pass up. Coming to Bermuda has to be the highlight of the season,” he said.

Voted this year’s ‘Best Chef of the Northwest’ by the James Beard Foundation, in addition to other prestigious titles, the celebrated restaurateur and his wife first began visiting Bermuda in 1980, and since that time he has noticed a tremendous change for the better in our restaurants.

“Today, they are very, very good,” he said. “All of the restaurants we have been to are of a very good standard, with good techniques. You can see that the kitchen teams are very well educated so that Bermuda is not only a destination for good fun, beaches and rum, but for good food.”

Having been involved (with chef Michael Scott) in preparing the winemaker’s dinner at the Newport Room as well as one of the gala gourmet dinner dishes, Gerin made plain his enthusiasm as a future participant.

“I just want to reserve my seat to make sure I am invited back next year,” he said. “It is extremely well run, and the precise preparation is there. Every time I wanted something, there was someone to answer my questions and say, ‘Yes, we can do that’, which takes the pressure out of travelling to a new destination. Doing a full-sized dinner is very intimidating, but this event has been a dream. I loved the food, and I love the Island.”

Also revisiting the Island was Swiss-born chef and restaurateur Beat (pronounced Bee-at) Wick, who once worked at the Whaler Inn and the Newport Room years ago before seeking fame and fortune in the United States.

Looking far younger than his 50 years, the California resident was astonished to find himself celebrating his half century on the Island he remembered as “very beautiful”, thanks to his devoted wife Karin, who secretly planned the whole surprise trip as a gift. That it happily coincided with Bermuda Gourmet Getaway was simply the icing on a culinary cake, the likes of which he could never have imagined.

A series of successful business ventures, including a chain of coffee houses run with his partner, a former pastry chef at the Southampton Princess, in various parts of the US ultimately led to owning a coffee house in San Diego, where the couple now reside with their two children.

Thrilled with the whole Bermuda experience this time around, Mr. Wick described the Champagne Brunch as “absolutely outstanding”.

“All the different flavours — it was earthy, and |0xcd| enjoyed it more than the six-course dinner at the Newport Room last night,” he said. “Unfortunately, I have gained about ten pounds this week.”

Brunch taken to another level