Community Corner

Tarry Lodge Chef Joins Colleagues in Search for Locally Grown Food

Chef tour encourages restaurants to source ingredients locally.

Andy Nusser, chef at the Tarry Lodge in Port Chester, eyed a patch of puntarella at Amba Organic Farm in Bedford Hills. About two-feet tall, the greens with tapered leaves were young—best for featuring in a salad.

"It would be a crime to sauté those," said Nusser. "But they'd be perfect for our Tarry Greens salad, which can be a mix of anything—'Liz's Greens," he said to Amba owner, Liz Taggart.

His customers like knowing where his dishes are sourced from, he said—and it was a conversation-starter for food servers.

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Nusser was one of about 30 chefs who toured 10 local farms on Monday, as part of the Westchester Land Trust's ongoing "Local Land, Local Food" farmer networking series. The event was arranged with the help of Slow Food Westchester as a way to get more local food onto local plates.

"When you consider the amount of farmland being lost in New York State each year, anything we can do to help make local farms more sustainable is a great benefit to the community and the environment," said Tom Andersen, Westchester Land Trust's deputy executive director.

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While sourcing ingredients seems to have no downside—fresher tastes better, local saves on transportation costs, restaurant-goers like it—it's not without its challenges.

Mark Kramer, chef for Susan Lawrence catering and gourmet food shop in Chappaqua, explained his need for 20 cases a day of Russian kale to Gwenn Brant, owner of 7-acre Daisy Hill Farm in Mt. Kisco. It would be impossible for them to source entirely from local farms—the catering company burns through truckloads of produce every day—but he said they were looking to augment their wholesale supply with local product.

He walked away with a deal to purchase ten-dozen Daisy Hill eggs for retail sale. The farm's 300 chickens also supply enough eggs to the Café of Love in Mt. Kisco for the 'Daisy Hill Omelette' to have a permanent spot on the menu.

"The problem for me is volume," said Brant. "I once grew a supply of basil for a local caterer exclusively, but could only do it for a month. I'm not that big." Brant also sells food from other farmers through her stand and sends out a wholesale list each Monday of what she has available after the retail weekend.

That didn't deter Michael Kaplan, executive chef at Northern Westchester Hospital, from asking how he could work with Brant to supply a portion of the food needed for the hospital's 130 patients and 300 daily cafeteria meals. Though Brant couldn't supply broccoli for three months—after two weeks, the supply dwindles because the heads don't fully grow back—Kaplan said he might be able to adjust and use her swiss chard, which was more readily available.

Other chefs seemed willing to adapt to what was in season.

David Starkey, owner of Sweet Grass Grill in Tarrytown and Tomatillo in Dobbs Ferry, visited Amba Farm with his general manager, Peter Basha. "We used to think that farms should get their act together and provide what we need, but it's turning around. We have to adjust to what they have," said Starkey, adding that high-speed color printers also help with quick menu changes.

Mimi Edelman, who co-owns I & Me Farm in Bedford with Eileen Zidi explained that chefs make up much of her client base. "Ninety percent of our business is with chefs, and about a third of our field is specifically planted for certain chefs' needs."

I & Me serves clients that include Crabtree's Kittehouse in Chappaqua, Flying Pig in Mount Kisco and Mount Kisco Child Care Center, which Edelman described as "my second home."

I & Me grows produce that includes micro greens, bouquet flowers and herbs. Varieties can be found that originated from Asia, France and Italy. The farm also has a unique business model, in that it leases multiple parcels in three locations: Bedford Hills, Bedford Village and Somers. Next year they will consolidate to a single location on Wood Road in Bedford Hills, which is currently their main leased site and is shared with JD Farm, which also leases from landowner William Dreyfus.

Storage is also an issue, said Bob Stuart, of Stuart's Farm in Granite Springs, known for apples and tomatoes. Stuart delivers within five miles—to delis in Somers, and the Yorktown Diner—but can't handle a large business because he doesn't have room for mass production.

Today's diners like to have a relationship to their food, said Marian Lapsley Cross, of Amawalk Farm in Katonah, as she carried a pumpkin under each arm while waiting for chefs to arrive to the 4.5-acre farm, which caters to cafes, restaurants and other health food stores, such as Mrs. Greens, Mt. Kisco Seafood, Table, O2 Living, Bedford Post and Café of Love.

Amawalk is no stranger to working with chefs—they've met regularly for the last three years to identify needs. The farm is known for tomatoes (they carry 40 different kinds) but they've also accommodated some unusual requests. This year, Café for Love wanted an heirloom lettuce (Forellenschuss) originating in 16th-century Holland.

Conversations throughout the day seemed to reflect that sort of give-and-take.  

Taggart, who is developing acreage in Goshen to supplement her one-acre Amba Farm, said she could devote growing space to a particular farmer's needs.

Nusser admitted he could never get everything he needed from Westchester farms—"I still need 140 California artichokes a day," but he what he does get makes his menu more special. And the positive associations from knowing the grower cannot be understated, he said, tossing back a few white raspberries he'd just picked.

Participating farms included: I & Me Farm, Mount Kisco/Bedford Corners; Amba Farms, Bedford Hills; Daisy Hill Farm, Mount Kisco; JD Farms, Mount Kisco/Bedford Corners; Kitchawan Farm, Yorktown; Hemlock Hill Farm, Cortlandt; Amawalk Farm, Yorktown; Stuart's Fruit Farm, Somers/Granite Springs; Ryder Farm, Brewster and Snow Hill Farm in North Salem.

 


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