Jollity
photos by Kyle Wolff
Dayton, Ohio—Before Samantha Wickham opened Foxhole Farm in Brookville, OH, four years ago with her husband, Rich, she went to culinary school. Her professional passion lies now in growing food rather than cooking it, but she says chefs play an important role in familiarizing local diners with more esoteric ingredients.
“We can grow all the okra or shiso we want, but some of those things aren’t well understood,” she explains. “We want to maintain relationships with chefs, because they share that same enthusiasm for things that are bursting with flavor but need to be learned and understood.”
Thankfully, the Wickhams became friends with Zachary Weiner and Brendon Miller, the chef-owners of Jollity, a restaurant that opened in Dayton’s Fire Blocks District in 2020. The restaurant constantly rotates its menu based on seasonal ingredients and the whims of its chefs. When farm met table, both parties knew it was kismet.
“They do the awesome thing where they ask if there’s anything we want them to grow,” Weiner says.
This dynamic has led to the Wickhams growing ingredients like fennel and shiso, which often aren’t typically featured in Midwestern cuisine. The chefs have also fallen in love with Foxhole’s Hokkaido carrots.
“It’s the best carrot in the world, and the greens are the best part of that carrot,” Miller explains. “They’re gently spicy and sweet and earthy and herbaceous.”
After two years of working together, the folks behind Foxhole Farm and Jollity are now good friends. Both look forward to weekly delivery days, when Samantha brings produce to the chefs and they’ll catch up on the week’s happenings and taste ingredients and dishes together. The creative energy of the relationship fuels both businesses.
“It was almost like a romance. It’s so rare to meet a match,” Wickham says. “That love of our life that we’ve been missing is here.”