f rm fresh
gardens, farmers markets and local
farmers are chef favorites for produce.
By Kathryn Kjarsgaard
hether taking off their chef coats to tend their
own gardens or spending more time at local
farmers markets, chefs are enthusiastically
joining the locally grown movement. And customers
are taking note, expecting to see more and more local
ingredients on menus.
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“We try to have a story behind our produce,” says Shaun
Garcia, chef de cuisine for Soby’s in Greenville, S.C., which
has its own farm as well as a network of farmers who supply
produce. “Some of our tomato plants have really good
documentation from groups that preserve tomato species
and strains. It’s kind of like a pedigree. We run a couple of
features each day and will mention where the produce is from
on the menu, like, these are turnips from such-and-such farm.
It allows you to be whimsical and have fun with the menu.”
Garcia says using local produce is important for a number
of reasons, including supporting local businesses and the
local economy. “Plus, the produce does not ripen on the
truck. We pick it—or our farmers pick it—when it’s ripe,
and we serve it right away. Things taste a lot better when
they ripen on the vine.”
John Castro, CEC, executive chef-instructor for Winston’s
Restaurant at Sullivan University in Louisville, Ky., has
been a part of the local food movement for more than 20
years. “I grew up on a farm, so I was ahead of the trend and
have been focusing on local produce for a long time,” he
says. “Guests today want local ingredients, as long as the
price can be managed.”
According to Castro, while some chefs focus on developing
a relationship with local farmers, it is more important to get
to know the product. “A lot of chefs only know what they’ve
seen in the grocery store—they didn’t grow up on a farm. A
lot of produce gets destroyed because it doesn’t look perfect.
Produce should not really be perfect, like heirloom tomatoes
