Peter Davis works with a local farmer who
is raising heirloom beans, which show up
regularly on the winter menu at Henrietta’s
Table. He uses Jacob’s Cattle and Money
beans for this offering of Nana’s Baked Beans.
our vegetables, and the other came from
England, and pickled them. I feel very
much at home with all that, and if you
look at my walk-in right now, you will see
pickled watermelon rind, pickled curried
baby tomatoes, and pickled chilies,
eggplant and cauliflower. I even have
ramps that I did in the spring. I like using
them now because no one expects them
this time of year.”
With such an emphasis on preserving,
though, Rendell finds that most of his new
chefs lack basic techniques and skills. “This
is all about hygiene,” he points out. “You
need to use the right equipment, and it
must be clean. The spices must be correct.
Fresh & Honest: Food from the Farms of New England and the
Kitchen of Henrietta’s Table (Three Bean Press, 2008)
SAVING RHUBARB
It is chefs, with their growing interest in all-year-round sourcing and preserving, who
are fueling the movement toward extending
the season, which translates into sales and
stability for producers. In European Union
nations, PDO (protected designation of
origin) adds an extra layer of protection
for producers, with one of the most recent
examples being the 2010 designation of
West Yorkshire’s Rhubarb Triangle as one
of Europe’s specially protected food and
drink areas. The 12 farmers in this nine-square-mile area produce a sweet and
tender rhubarb that is traditionally grown
outdoors, then replanted in warm, dark
forcing sheds and harvested by candlelight.
the Rhubarb Triangle’s PDO is good
news. It is at Prestonfield that rhubarb
was first introduced to Scotland by
Sir Alexander Dick, who inherited the
estate in the early 19th century. It was a
rundown hotel when restaurateur James
Thomson embarked on an opulent
restoration that was completed in 2004,
and it is now one of the nation’s iconic
hotel restaurants. McMahon sometimes
serves up to 500 covers a night.
The restaurant gets rhubarb from the
Rhubarb Triangle, as well as from the
Prestonfield gardens, where it is harvested
from early spring through late summer and
made into jams, pickles and preserves.
Some grows earlier in the season, under the
protection of huge terra cotta rhubarb forcers.
Rhubarb, a vegetable, though most often
prepared and served as a fruit, is featured
on the menu in dishes that include outdoor
rhubarb sorbet baked Alaska, rhubarb
custard slice, rhubarb meringue pie with
ginger ice cream, and a tasting plate of
rhubarb served with ginger and vanilla.
“Such is the popularity of rhubarb that we
virtually have a riot from guests if it doesn’t
appear on the pudding menu somewhere,”
says McMahon.
Jan Greenberg, author of Hudson Valley
Harvest (Countryman Press, 2003), is
based in Rhinebeck, N. Y.
"I’m employing great young cooks, but
we are doing a lot of teaching. This is not
something that culinary schools are doing.”
For John McMahon, executive chef at
five-star Rhubarb Restaurant, located in
Prestonfield House, Edinburgh, Scotland,
www.acfchefs.org
