Chefs Collaborative and using local ingredients

Anna_Boston · #1 07-02-2009, 08:53 AM

Hi everyone -
This is for a class project, actually: we're looking at promoting local ingredients to restaurant chefs.
So, two questions, if you have a couple of minutes:
1. As a chef, is using locally grown (sustainable, organic) ingredients important to you?
2. Chef Collaborative: thoughts? are you a member? do you find it useful?

Thank you so much

shroomgirl · #2 07-02-2009, 11:37 AM

using local is important.....for many different reasons

1) quality is better

2) environmental concerns

But the big one for me is I can't imagine living in a community without small family farmers.

Chef's Collaborative.
We were very active in Chef's Collaborative from 1999-2006......
It differs from most groups in that it is chef run and has an environmental mission statement.

greyeaglem · #3 07-03-2009, 04:29 AM

It was like a breath of fresh air tonight. I went into one of my favorite watering holes and saw a sign that said "Farm eggs $1.00 per doz." I haven't seen that for years. Used to be all the neighborhood bars had fresh eggs brought in by local farmers. Used to be illegal, probably still is, but nobody bought eggs at the store. Some had fresh milk too. In the fall you can get homemade horseradish. I used to buy eggs from a farmer for a restaurant I worked at. Totally against the health code, but I could never understand why. The farmer could sell those same eggs to the local broker who could put them in cold storage for 6 mos. and then sell them to me, but I couldn't buy the eggs direct from the farmer. I did anyway and had a lot of happy customers. A lot of times what we would like to do is hampered by health codes, some of which make no sense.

left4bread · #4 07-03-2009, 06:37 PM

1.) Yes. Locally grown products are important to us, but also locally made products. We use four local bakeries for bread, local honey... locally milled flour... another local place that makes our ravioli... dairy... as well as using local salad greens, potatoes, fruit, other "locally grown (sustainable, organic)" produce.
We think it's VERY important to keep money in our community and we try to support our neighbors and are constantly starting new accounts and buying as much local products as we can.
2.) None. No. N/A.