Pulled pork sandwich from Picnic and Green Button Farm
By Chloe Donohoe, CFSA Education Team Intern
The relationship between farmer and chef are symbiotic and highly valuable to a community’s healthy food environment. CFSA will be exploring the inner workings of the chef-farmer collaboration during the Sustainable Agriculture Conference Selling to Chefs pre-conference bus tour on Friday, Nov. 4. This tour is designed to highlight the production methods these farms practice to meet whole sale demand, to introduce specialty products that chefs are looking for, and to discuss best practices in facilitating relationships with restaurants.
The bus tour will be lead by Chef Aaron Benjamin of Gocciolina Restaurant and Dr. Duarte Morais, a professor with NC State and Fork2Farmer, an initiative to promote chef-farmer collaboration in North Carolina by highlighting popular farm-to-table chefs and the small farmers who supply to them through short films.
When asked about the importance of the relationship between farmer and restaurant, Dr. Morais talks of how his experience working with agri-tourism micro-entrepreneurs and celebrated farm-to-table chefs has shown him that many chefs care deeply for the welfare of the select farmers that supply them with fresh ingredients.
“Chefs recognize that their success depends on the viability of the farms they work with,” said Dr. Morais.
“Therefore sending their patrons directly to their suppliers to participate in agri-tourism is dually beneficial. Patrons experience the passion and hard work that goes into producing the food prepared for them at their favorite restaurants.”
One such chef is Aaron Benjamin of Gocciolina restaurant in Durham, named Restaurant of the Year in 2015 by the News and Observer. His background working at Pop’s, Rue Cler and Pizzeria Toro, esteemed Durham restaurants with regional farmer/fisherman networks, has given him extensive experience working with farmers.
Plating at Gocciolina
His restaurant reflects his dedication to fostering relationships with local farmers, and incorporates his personal experiences from his time studying at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in northern Italy, during which he spent time in Spain, France and Croatia. Located in an unassuming area of North Durham, his compact, trattoria-style restaurant serves authentic Italian fare with a menu inspired and reflective of the products that are seasonally available from the farms he works with.
Gocciolina sources ingredients and inspiration from both Four Leaf Farm and Green Button Farm, both of which are partnering with Dr. Duarte Morais and Chef Aaron Benjamin during the Selling to Chefs Tour. The farms are highlighted for the excellently established partnerships with some of Durham’s most popular restaurants.
Four Leaf Farm in Rougemont, NC
Four Leaf Farm sells to 17 restaurants including Gocciolina, as well as the Durham Coop Market and Weaver Street Market. They have successfully identified niche markets through the production of their delicious pea-shoots and unique kiwi fruits. Green Button Farm focuses on the local food economy, preservation and protection of land resources and community commitment. In addition to their 22-week meat, produce, and eggs CSA they also partner with nearly 20 restaurants in Raleigh and Durham including Gocciolina, and their very own restaurant, Picnic. Picnic is the joint project of Green Button farmers Ryan and Alicia Butler, well-known Pitmaster Wyatt Dickson, and Chef Ben Adams (formerly of Piedmont Restaurant). Together, the farmers, chef, and pitmaster offer farm-to-table BBQ with heritage-breed pigs raised for the smokehouse only 12 miles down the road.
The Selling to Chef’s Tour will visit both of these farms on Friday, Nov. 4 for an informational tour led by agri-tourism expert Dr. Morais and Chef Aaron Benjamin. Farmers, this tour is selling quickly so don’t miss unique opportunity to learn how to forge relationships and grow wholesale for restaurants.
For more information about the tour and other bus tour opportunities, check out the conference brochure. After you select your Friday intensive, stick around for a weekend packed with workshops, networking, and delicious meals! The Fork2Farmer team will also be presenting a conference workshop on Saturday, focused on building synergistic relationships between chefs, farmers, Cooperative Extension and tourism marketing.