August 18, 2006

The joys of cooking locally raised food celebrated by 30 restaurants

By GAIL SCHONTZLER, Chronicle Staff Writer

Reynolds Lassiter drove his black Ford pickup out a gravel road to The Geyser Farm, to gather fresh vegetables for Livingston 's 2nd Street Bistro, where he is executive chef.

On this Monday morning, farmer Mark Rehder was pleased to sell him fresh-picked yellow beans and green beans, buttery-yellow Gold Bar squash and dark green Raven zucchini.
Sunflowers were ready to decorate tables. Basil and broccoli, kale and baby chard were all ready to eat. Tomatoes weren't quite ripe, but peppers were coming on. It was an amazing abundance, growing just five minutes from downtown Livingston .

Rehder picked a jalapeno and another slim green pepper for the chef.

"These are serranos -- they're even a little hotter," he said, breaking it open with his fingers. "See that yellow? That's the heat."

Within the hour, Lassiter would be back in the 2nd Street kitchen, pan-searing Montana-raised pork and sauteeing the summer vegetables with garlic and white wine to create a daily special.

"I'm just thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him," said Lassiter, a New Orleans-veteran chef who goes out to Geyser Farm several times a week during harvest season.

"It's very easy to put dishes together when you have things this beautiful."

The joys of cooking and eating fresh, locally grown food are being celebrated this month and next by the Montana Farm to Restaurant campaign.

Thirty restaurants and caterers in Park and Gallatin counties and Big Sky are participating, along with 23 farms, ranches and food producers from all over Montana.

Restaurant patrons can find posters in the windows of participating restaurants, by artist Renee Evanoff of Gardiner, depicting an old-fashioned farmer working a vegetable patch beneath the snow-capped Rockies.

The poster's slogan: "Buy locally grown, it's thousands of miles fresher!"

Farm-to-restaurant is an old-fashioned idea that has come into vogue, from New York to New Mexico. It means enjoying fresh, local meat and produce, because it's not only tasty, but healthy for people and for their local economies.

"One hundred years ago or more, we all ate sustainably, we all ate organic, we all ate our neighbors' (products)," said Suzie Johnson, president of the Gallatin Valley Independent Business Alliance.

The independent business group organized this first year's campaign with the nonprofit Corporation for the Northern Rockies. CNR supports farmers and ranchers who work in sustainable ways that are good for the land, said Kira Pascoe, CNR market coordinator.

Pascoe said she acts as a professional go-between -- finding out what local producers have available and letting local chefs know. Her first experience doing this was at the University of Montana, where she worked on a Farm-to-College project as a student.

"There is so much interest in using local food and so little time -- chefs are insanely busy," she said. "I'm providing a foraging service."

Many Montanans would be surprised to learn just how much good food is produced locally, Pascoe said.

There's goat cheese from Amaltheia Dairy in Belgrade and mushrooms from Garden City Fungi in Missoula.

There are dried cherries, apple butter and barbecue sauce from The Orchard at Flathead Lake, herbs from Gallatin Valley Botanical and On Thyme Gourmet Fresh Herbs, and locally raised meat from Miller Pork and Montana Legend and Indreland Natural Angus Beef.

Pascoe has put together a booklet for the restaurants, with a photo and writeup on each of the 23 Montana producers, putting a face behind each name to make connections more personal.

Sue Brown, who started Amaltheia Dairy five years ago with her husband, Melvyn, produces gourmet goat cheese from their herd of 300 goats.

Brown said CNR's efforts are helping to make more local restaurants and patrons aware of their cheeses. Similar efforts are being made, she said, by the Chefs Collaborative and the Montana Department of Agriculture.

Local restaurants really are the natural allies of local producers, Brown said. But often chefs find it easier to order their supplies from national giants like Sysco corporation or Food Service of America.

"Chefs are busy people and don't have time to hunt for local stuff, so these organizations are really helpful," she said.

"It's so hard to market. If you're a farmer, you're not a marketer, not a salesman."

Brown appreciates restaurants that "go that extra mile. It's neat."

One is John Bozeman's Bistro. Owner Tyler Hill and head chef Perry Wenzel said they've always cooked with local foods as much as possible, but now are trying to expand that effort.

"We're really excited about the products," Wenzel said. "We hadn't realized how much is out there.

"It's clear the farmers take great care. We're seeing just phenomenal quality of food."

Hill said they're buying Montana-grown mushrooms, pork, elk, goat cheese, lamb and beef. He likes working with producers who don't use chemicals, who keep the environment clean, and who are local business owners.

"That's what it's all about," Hill said, "keeping it local, trading dollars vs. shipping it out" to distant company headquarters.

"We have a passion for food -- that's the reason we've been doing it for 25 years," Hill said. "It's easy to get passionate about the food in this program.

"People want quality, they want integrity. It's an exciting time to be in the business."

For more information, check out www.northrock.org, or www.gviba.org.

These are the local restaurants and businesses participating in the Montana Farm to Restaurant project:

Adagio

The Bay

Bittersweet Bakery

Bountiful Table Catering

By Word of Mouth

Cateye Cafe

Chico Hot Springs

Community Food Co-op

Desert Rose Catering

Emerson Grill

Gallatin Gateway Inn

The Garage

Hearthstone Bakery

John Bozeman's Bistro

La Parrilla

Lone Mountain Ranch

Montana Ale Works

Mountain Sky Guest ranch

Naked Noodle

Norris Hot Springs

Nova Cafe

Papoose Creek Lodge

Pine Creek Lodge

Pre-Fix Dinner Studio

2nd Street Bistro

The Sport

Starky's Authentic

Thyme Savors Gourmet

Yellowstone Pizza

Zac's Montana Kitchen

These producers are participating:

Amaltheia Dairy

Big Sky Natural Beef

Cook's Honey

Deep Creek Green

Gallatin Valley Botanical

Garden City Fungi

Geyser Garden

Happy Eggs

Indreland Natural Angus Beef

Miller Pork

Montana Four and Grain

Montana Legend Natural Angus Beef

Mountain Lake Fisheries

On Thyme Gourmet Fresh Herb Product Co.

Perpetual Harvest

Spring Creek Farms

The Orchard at Flathead Lake

Sabo Farm

Thirteen Mile Farm

Timeless Natural Food

Western Montana Growers Cooperative

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2006/08/18/features/roundup/01restaurant.txt
©2006 Bozeman Daily Chronicle

 

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