Februrary 27, 2025 Harvest Circle Greenhouse Dinner

Erica Allen is from Selma, Alabama, and weaves her Greek and Italian roots into southern food. After more than a decade of cooking in New York and New Jersey, Erica is the current opening pastry chef for Hilltown in Egremont, MA where her cornbread tiramisu has been featured in The B. In 2018, she co-founded Darke Pines, a whole-animal butcher shop in Jersey City, NJ, with her husband Will Messmer. Their shop features house-smoked ham sandwiches with Erica’s pimento cheese. In 2024, Erica received a Resolution from the City of New Jersey for her tomato sandwiches and efforts to support local farms in the tri-state area. And her buttermilk biscuits were listed in the “51 Things You Need to Eat in New Jersey in 2025” by NJ.com.  Returning to Alabama to cook always feels like a homecoming. Everything from biscuits and cornbread, to thick-cut ribeyes, fresh pasta and Greek meatballs to sweet potato pies have been served at her supper table. Come hungry!