As a chef, I am always on the lookout for the best ingredients I can possibly serve at my restaurant, within reason. I have found that the vast majority of things that I can find locally taste better, fresher, more vibrant. This is not true of everything but for the most part the things I choose to buy from local farmers is of higher quality than a conventional produce vendor. Sometimes they cost more than you would pay from your produce vendor also but quality costs. The thing that irritates me ( here it comes), is when chefs put “ we support local farmers” at the bottom of their menu and then buy a pound of radishes at the market. You know who you are, I see you at the market, widening your eyes at how much things cost. The thing is, I get it, some things are expensive, and most restaurant owners will crawl up your ass about food costs. But, the thing I guess that bothers me is, that idea of support. Are we really supporting the farmer? Sometimes if a bag of radishes is all you can afford, fine, better to buy it local. But do you recommend his stuff to other chefs? Do you talk about his farm at your server meetings? Do you engage your customers about his farm and/or products? Support can mean many things. I think true creativity is finding a way to use the best possible product and still do right by your food costs. This is always going to be a challenge but I find it extremely rewarding. I am extremely fortunate to work in a very busy restaurant that allows me great buying power, but with this buying power comes other responsibilities. It’s sometimes challenging to train my staff about how special and unique these items are, to treat them with the utmost respect.In fact this is probably one of my biggest frustrations. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one who gets excited when certain things come in season. I remember when asparagus became available at the market, I was so excited I think my head was vibrating on the way to the market. I had so many dishes I wanted to play around with and experiment, but it seemed like no one really cared all that much. But I still wanted to put two asparagus dishes on my menu and let everyone how great Mick Klug asparagus really is. I very much believe in fighting the good fight, I will always find a way to use these ingredients no matter how daunting of seemingly expensive. Anyone can take some local organic eggs and cook them up and have them taste pretty good. I think it’s much more difficult to use those eggs as your house eggs when they cost three time as much as conventional eggs, and still keep your food costs in line. A lot of chefs like to think they support local farmers but how many really do? I feel that when you make a commitment to using local products, you don’t throw that out the window when things get tough. Sometimes I can’t use as much as I would like for whatever reason, but this doesn’t stop me from educating my staff, customers, and anyone else who will listen. If you make a commitment to a farmer you can’t ditch when you have a bad month, or the owner is second guessing everything you buy. Find a way to make it work, you might have to buy less, or go to the farmer and explain your situation, sometimes they will work with you. I don’t think I have ever been asked for a credit application from any farmer at Green city market. How many produce vendors will do that for you? The relationships that I have made with local farmers have quite honestly, changed my life. They have made my job much more rewarding, I still get excited on market day. As chefs we have a responsibility not only to our owners, employees, customers, but also to the community we live in, how well we fulfill these responsibilities is the true measure of success.
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