Wild Indigo Forest Farm · Southern Indiana
CHEF EXPERIENCES & FOREST DINING
From the kitchen to the wall, to the forest where we forage it all
A Little Wild · A Lot of Heart
Food just might be the most universal love language there is.
We don’t have to speak the same language, come from the same place, or share the same traditions to understand the love behind a meal.
A chair pulled up to the table. A dish passed from one hand to another. Someone insisting you try just one more bite. The laughter, the stories, the recipes passed down through generations, and the beautiful ways food connects us without needing a single word.
Somehow, we all speak delicious.
Food brings us together across cultures, generations, and walks of life. It opens conversations, creates friendships, honors traditions, and turns ordinary moments into memories that stay with us long after the last bite.
At Wild Indigo, we’re taking that love language into the forest.
Picture an intimate dinner nestled beside the creek, a long commUnity feast overlooking Princess Leia’s Pond, or a kitchen full of flour-dusted hands, laughter, and something delicious bubbling away.
Here, food is about more than what’s being served. It’s about the people who grow it, the hands that prepare it, the stories behind it, and the connections that happen when we slow down long enough to share it.
We want to bring people outside, gather around good food, and create experiences where the forest, the farmers, the chefs, and everyone who pulls up a chair become part of the story.
A little wild, a little wonderful, and always seasoned with soul.
Now welcoming conversations and chef collaborations for 2027
Outdoor Dining · Meals With a View
A DAM GOOD PLACE TO GATHER
Some meals call for candlelight and a beautiful table. Others deserve muddy boots, fresh air, and a view worth lingering over. Around here, we’ve got room for both.
Wild Indigo is surrounded by woodland, water, winding trails, and all the little surprises nature tucks between the trees. We envision dining experiences that invite guests to become part of that landscape, not simply admire it from a distance.
Whether it’s an intimate gathering along the creek, a long dinner beside Princess Leia’s Pond, or a meal paired with a wander through the forest, we love letting the land become part of the experience.
CHEF’S KISS · PRIVATE CHEF EXPERIENCES
Dream up an intimate meal with a visiting chef, a seasonal tasting experience, or a shared feast for your own gathering. Together, we’ll shape the setting, service, and menu around the chef’s approach and your group.
CREEK, PLEASE · DINNERS BY THE WATER
An intimate table beside the creek, with woodland all around and a meal made for lingering. Getting there is part of the experience: creek dinners require a walk through the forest, including a downhill descent to the creek over natural, uneven terrain. Guests must also walk back uphill after dinner.
We’ll discuss trail conditions, footwear, weather, seasonal water levels, mobility needs, and access before confirming a gathering. This route may not be suitable for everyone, and an indoor or pondside setting may be a better fit.
A DAM GOOD DINNER · LONG commUnity TABLES
Gather on the grassy dam beside Princess Leia’s Pond, directly next to Loki’s Daffodil Renewal Labyrinth and the trails. This is the setting we envision for generous, shared meals and long commUnity dinners that carry on as the light changes over the water.
WHERE THERE’S SMOKE, THERE’S SUPPER
Live-fire demonstrations and open-air cooking are part of the vision we’re exploring with visiting chefs. Equipment and cooking arrangements will be planned individually while the permanent outdoor kitchen is still in development.
A LITTLE ROOM TO WANDER
We want guests to experience the forest, not simply eat beside it. A forest walk can be woven into creek dinners, commUnity feasts, private chef experiences, and even indoor gatherings to help people connect with the land before or after their meal.
Explore the trails, spend a quiet moment at Loki’s Daffodil Renewal Labyrinth, notice the changing light, listen to the birds, and see what wonders the season has tucked away. Routes can be discussed around the group’s interests, weather, and mobility needs.
Persimmon has already given the dam his paw of approval. He does have excellent taste in scenery.
GATHER WITH US NOW
Our existing outdoor tables can be arranged for creekside, pondside, and other thoughtfully planned gatherings right now. These are temporary dining arrangements, not the future permanent tree-supported commUnity table.
We’ll work with each chef or group on location, seating, equipment, guest comfort, cooking needs, forest-walk possibilities, seasonal water levels, weather, and accessibility. Creek dining requires a downhill forest walk on uneven terrain and an uphill return. The forest is already here, and it’s a pretty wonderful place to begin.
Inside Knob N’ Wood
KITCHEN ALCHEMY · MADE FOR STIRRING THINGS UP
Not all culinary magic requires an open flame beneath the stars. Some of it happens with flour on the counter, herbs scattered across a cutting board, and something wonderful simmering away. Welcome to the kitchen at Knob N’ Wood.
Our fully equipped, artisan-built indoor kitchen was made for learning, creating, experimenting, and enjoying the beautiful chaos that happens when people cook together. Handmade ceramic tile, a copper hood, timber framing, natural light, and forest views bring artistry into every recipe.
Because the kitchen opens into the dining room and gathering space, nobody has to disappear behind closed doors while everyone else has all the fun. The chef stays in the conversation, the teacher can share the process, and guests get to enjoy the transformation from raw ingredients to the first delicious bite.
A little counter culture, Wild Indigo style.
LET’S GET THIS BREAD · COOKING WORKSHOPS
Think pasta-making, baking, fermentation, seasonal wild foods, herbal preparations, and culinary traditions worth learning and sharing. Come curious. Leave inspired. And possibly covered in flour.
CHEF’S KISS · PRIVATE DINING IN KNOB N’ WOOD
An intimate chef-prepared dinner, a seasonal tasting, or a gathering that begins with a workshop and ends around the dining table. We’ll shape the menu and setting around the chef’s craft and your people.
COOK · TEACH · TASTE · SHARE
The hands-on counter accommodates up to six participants. The main dining table seats approximately seven to eight guests, with additional handmade wood tables available for a tailored arrangement.
Cooking classes, baking demonstrations, fermentation, pasta-making, herbal preparations, and seasonal wild-food workshops can all begin here.
THE RIGHT FIT MAKES THE BEST RECIPE
Knob N’ Wood accommodates up to 30 people total, including guests and facilitators. A seated dining layout is planned individually; the building’s total capacity is not a promise of 30 seats at one table.
The kitchen includes an accessible work area, and two mobility-friendly bathrooms have safety bars and roll-under sinks. Outdoor terrain and access vary by setting.
A Little More Room to Savor
COME FOR THE FOOD · STAY FOR THE FEELING
Knob N’ Wood isn’t your everyday event space. Our artisan-built retreat center is full of the textures, creativity, and personality of the land and the people who helped bring it to life: timber framing, earthen walls, handcrafted details, stained glass, cozy seating, and windows that invite the forest indoors.
There’s the warmth of the living room, the glow of the masonry heater, and the inviting Library Bar, where conversation can begin before everyone settles around the dinner table.
The Library Bar looks out over the forest and Loki’s Daffodil Renewal Labyrinth. Settle in, share a story, and enjoy the company of the people around you. Some gatherings may begin with a cooking workshop and end with a shared meal; others might grow into a retreat, celebration, or overnight experience.
Sometimes what stays with you isn’t just the food. It’s the place, the people, and the feeling that you truly belonged at the table.
Forest to Table · Rooted in Something Real
WE’VE GOT GOOD TASTE IN NATURE
Around here, forest-to-table isn’t simply about where we put the table. It’s about where the food begins. With an honorable harvest.
Garden vegetables still warm from the sun, herbs gathered by hand, edible flowers, fruits of the season, and wild flavors responsibly foraged when nature offers them. Think pawpaws, persimmons, spicebush, fresh herbs, and whatever delightful abundance the season decides to share.
Our bees are part of the story, too, as are neighboring farms and local growers whose care for the land brings so much goodness to our region. Some ingredients are grown here, others responsibly foraged or harvested when available, and others come from local farms and producers.
We want guests to know the stories behind their food: where it grew, who tended it, why it matters, and how the changing seasons help shape what we create.
There’s a little kitchen alchemy in it all. A wild ingredient that sparks curiosity, an unexpected combination, or a recipe that brings someone back to childhood can turn an ordinary supper into a story worth telling.
Every chef brings their own roots to the table: heritage, traditions, favorite ingredients, and creative approach. Together, we explore what’s growing, what’s ready to harvest, what’s tucked in the pantry, and what local farmers have available. Then we let the menu unfold with the season and the chef’s imagination.
No two harvests are exactly alike, and we rather like it that way.
Forage a little connection. Stir up a little wonder. Pass the good stuff around. A meal here is a chance to taste the landscape, meet the hands behind the food, and spend time outside with people worth breaking bread with.
Inspired by Our Most Human Connection
THYME TO GATHER
There are meals that stay with you long after the dishes are cleared. Sometimes it’s the food. Sometimes it’s the setting. Sometimes it’s a chef whose passion you can taste in every bite, or a business owner whose care makes you feel like you’ve been welcomed into their home. And sometimes, it’s simply how the experience makes you feel.
Those are the experiences I keep coming back to.
Wild Indigo’s culinary vision has grown from chefs I’ve admired, meals I’ve loved, beautiful places I’ve visited, and people whose creativity and dedication have genuinely inspired me.
I’m drawn to people who pour their hearts into what they do. I don’t want to simply recreate those experiences. I want to create with the people behind them.
To bring their stories, talents, traditions, and passions into the forest. To celebrate what they’ve built, introduce more people to their work, and grow something together that feels true to all of us.
The chef brings their craft. The grower brings their harvest. The maker brings their artistry. The forest brings its own beauty. And everyone who gathers brings their own stories, curiosity, laughter, and appetite for connection.
Good food brings people together. Great experiences give them something to carry home. That’s the kind of gathering I want to grow here.
Elise Dixie Jane
Wild Indigo Forest Farm
An Invitation to Chefs, Wine Shops & Culinary Creatives
LET’S COOK UP SOMETHING TOGETHER
Wild Indigo isn’t meant to be a place where people simply come to experience what we’ve created. I want it to be a place where we create with people. Where chefs share the dishes and traditions closest to their hearts, business owners introduce guests to their craft, and local growers are celebrated for the care they put into the land.
In 2026, I became a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier International’s Kentucky Chapter, which brings together women leaders in culinary, beverage, and hospitality fields.
That connection is especially meaningful to me. I’d love for Wild Indigo to become another space where fellow Kentucky Dames can share their talents, highlight their businesses, and dream up experiences together.
We’re excited to connect with chefs, growers, culinary educators, beverage professionals, and makers across Southern Indiana, Louisville, and the surrounding region for 2027.
Whether you’ve imagined a woodland supper, a creekside tasting, a live-fire menu, a cooking class, or something completely different, we’d love to hear about it. You don’t need a fully developed event. Sometimes the best collaborations start with, “What if we tried this?”
Tell us about your cooking, beverages, or business, the experience you’d like to create, your preferred season, group size, and equipment needs. We’ll talk through the indoor kitchen, outdoor locations, tables, service, and how a collaboration could work.
A Bottle, a Story & a Place at the Table
SIP HAPPENS · CONNECTION FOLLOWS
Good food and good company are already a lovely pairing. Add someone who knows the stories behind a beautiful bottle, and now we’re really talking.
Part of my inspiration comes from the independent wine shops and people behind them: Nouvelle Bar & Bottle, Wine Shop in New Albany, Westport Whiskey & Wine, and The Wine Rack on Frankfort Avenue.
Imagine a chef and wine professional shaping an evening together: a seasonal meal, stories behind the bottles, and time to enjoy both beside the water or beneath the trees. These are businesses that inspire me and that I’d love to connect with. Naming them celebrates their work and invites possibilities, not established partnerships.
If your work feels at home in this vision, there is room for your ideas too. Let’s create something that introduces guests to the people, places, and experiences that inspire us, and gives everyone a reason to gather outside.
Your People · Your Occasion · Our Forest
LETTUCE MAKE A LITTLE MAGIC · PLAN YOUR TABLE
Have something special in mind? A birthday dinner, an intimate celebration, a gathering of friends, a culinary retreat, or an experience you’ve been dreaming about bringing to life? We’d love to hear about it.
Our indoor kitchen, dining spaces, and existing outdoor tables offer a starting point for private chef experiences, hands-on workshops, and culinary gatherings. Some stand alone; others can become part of a retreat or overnight stay.
Tell us your preferred dates, estimated guest count, the indoor or outdoor setting you imagine, and a little about the people gathering. We’ll explore chef availability, seasonal menus, equipment, seating, and a tailored quote.
THOUGHTFUL PLANNING FROM THE BEGINNING
Menus, dietary accommodations, allergies, seating, mobility needs, weather alternatives, cooking arrangements, and pricing are confirmed individually. Our shared indoor kitchen handles wheat. Outdoor dining depends on the weather and conditions of the chosen space.
There’s Always More to Dig Into
KEEP EXPLORING WILD INDIGO
Discover the Retreat Center & Host Your Own Retreat, explore Forest-to-Table Catering, meet the land, or make it an overnight stay.
Our Future Outdoor Kitchen · Spring Dreams Taking Root
SOMETHING GOOD IS COOKING
And because we’re Wild Indigo, you know we’re not finished dreaming.
One of the projects we’re looking ahead to as spring approaches is our future outdoor kitchen and woodland gathering space. We’re dreaming big, but building thoughtfully, with the land leading the way.
In an area where trees already needed to come down, we envision a dedicated space for outdoor cooking, gathering, learning, and creating together. A place for live-fire demonstrations, chefs sharing their craft beneath the trees, and guests becoming part of the experience.
THE TABLE WE’RE GROWING TOWARD
At the heart of it all, a massive tree-supported commUnity table surrounded by tree-stump seating, designed to feel like it belongs to the forest itself. Not just a table placed among trees, but a table made to become part of the woodland gathering experience.
A place for long dinners, shared stories, creative collaborations, and those beautiful moments when strangers become friends over something delicious.
GOOD THINGS TAKE THYME
The outdoor kitchen and permanent tree-supported commUnity table are still future projects. Spring is part of the vision we’re looking toward, but we haven’t set a completion or opening date. Our existing outdoor tables and fully equipped indoor kitchen are available for planning experiences now.
What excites me most isn’t just the beautiful space we hope to build. It’s the people who might gather there, the meals we’ll share, the traditions we’ll celebrate, and the friendships we’ll make.
Because Wild Indigo has never been about simply building a place. It’s about growing a commUnity. One gathering, one conversation, one shared meal at a time.
Good Food · Wild Places · Beautiful People
Come hungry for connection. Leave with a little more wonder.
A Place At The Table Starts Here
LET’S COOK UP SOMETHING TOGETHER
Chef, restaurant, culinary creator, or gathering host? Tell us what you’re dreaming up. We’ll bring the forest, and together we can explore the possibilities.