I’m Danielle French, founder and owner of South Pond Farms. South Pond was started founded in 2008 as a small food delivery business. Since then, it has grown to become a culinary destination, offering special events, weddings, workshops and corporate retreats all set in our restored century barn in the rolling hills of rural Ontario. My vision has always come from a connection to the land and the food that we grow and prepare in our kitchen. There have been many changes over the years, and we will continue to evolve over the years to come.
It looks like our show Taste of the Country has had it’s time on Netflix. I knew that this day was going to happen and now that it has, it’s a mixture of sadness and of gratitude. We have had a good run as Netflix has put us more prominently on the map. We’ve gained many followers, not just likes and shares but people who have engaged with us on many levels; responding to our posts, asking for recipes, commenting on what we do and coming out to the farm for a dinner, workshop or simply to buy bread and jam. It has meant a lot to me that so many have had a glimpse to what we do and shared our bread and our food.
Netflix is leaving us but we are still here. We work hard at all that we do, tending our gardens, making bread and delicious things to eat, our products and writing my books. I am proud of what we have done and mostly, I’m excited about where we are going.
This Spring, we will host the Terroir Hospitality Rural Retreat, Harrowsmith is featuring our Full Moon Suppers in their Spring issue (on Newsstands now), and we will receiving an ambassador award from @Ontario Farm Fresh. We have great collaborators and partners with Lunar Rhythm Gardens, Primal Cuts, Rolling Grape Vineyard, Cultivate: A Festival Of Food And Drink, Kawarthas Northumberland, and all of the many stores that support us by carrying our products. It’s going to be a good year! Sorry to see you go, Netflix but our “series” of life here on the farm runs every day!
About Danielle French
I founded South Pond Farms in 2008. The property is on the Oak Ridges Moraine in the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe Mississauga. South Pond started as a small food delivery business making fresh prepared meals from ingredients in my garden. Together with my family, we restored the barn, the iconic heritage silo and the land to become a destination for authentic culinary experiences, weddings, celebrations, workshops. Inspired from the farm, I also create a line of culinary products and gifts.
In 2021, I was ready to move away from the farm. As much as I loved the land and the country, it was time to let someone else bring their passion to what we had created. My new home is in Peterborough, Ontario where I’m taking some time to write, contemplate next steps, train my dogs, blog about recipes and interesting explorations and unpack!
