GREENWICH, N.Y.  Outside the kill room at the Garden of Spices, a band of little boys played by a parked truck. Between giggles, they kept a curious eye on the open room. Inside, a half-dozen visitors surrounded their father, Ben Shaw, as he grasped a chicken.

Mr. Shaw spoke slowly: Grab both feet and turn the chicken upside down. Get control of the wings. Stretch the neck tight and taut the skin to help the cut. Then, he swiftly slit the chicken’s neck. The visitors watched  serious, silent, some pale and grim as blood sprayed the wall below. It would be their turn next.

Since Farm Camp began last fall, scores of food professionals from New York City  including the chefs at Jean Georges and Savoy, the food writer Betty Fussell and a former investment banker now working with sustainable farms  have trekked 200 miles upstate to learn skills like how to slaughter chickens at farms across Washington County.

Instead of swimming holes, these adult campers slosh through the muck beside manure lagoons. They hold piglets during castration procedures and hike at night  not to study constellations but to choose fowl for supper.