By Jaclyn Irvine
Knowing their food was prepared by a local chef isn’t enough for some people when they go out to their favourite restaurants for local cuisine. More and more, restaurant goers want the food on their plate to have come from local farms.
“We know that there’s increased demand and awareness for local foods and interest in being in contact with fresh foods,” says Moe Garahan, director of Just Food Ottawa, a non-profit organization dedicated to making Ottawa a food-secure city. Local restaurants want to capitalize on this interest.
Too meet this demand, Ottawa chefs and farmers are forming new partnerships for the 2007 growing season.
In partnership with Ottawa Tourism, Just Food organized a conference on March 12 at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier called the Farmer-Chef Meet and Greet, or “speed-dating for farmers.”. More than 130 people attended, hoping to forge new business contacts for the spring.
“The event was phenomenal,” says John Taylor, owner of Domus Café in the Byward Market, which specialises in local cuisine. He made three potential business contacts for 2007.
Taylor has been supporting independent farmers in the region for 12 years. In the winter months this is difficult, with only about 50 per cent of his foods coming from local sources. But by August he usually uses as much as 100 per cent local food, with the exception of foods that aren’t grown locally, such as lemons.
Buying locally can increase costs. “Food grown half way around the world is often cheaper than food grown here,” explains Garahan.
“Our farmers are in competition with products that have been dumped on the market at a price that is lower than the price of consumption.”
But it’s a myth that local foods are always more expensive, Taylor says. “Buying local eliminates the middle man and you don’t have to pay as much in transportation costs,” which is a concern especially with rising fuel prices. “It’s worth it to pay the extra five to 10 cents a pound in the long run,” says Taylor.
Larger restaurants face additional challenges. “It’s mainly getting the quantity and consistency we need,” says Kenton Leier, head chef at the Delta Ottawa Hotel and Suites on Queen Street. He tries to support local farmers as much as possible but it can be difficult for a restaurant of his size to get everything he needs.
“You’re relying on whoever’s growing it to be able to consistently provide a large amount which isn’t always possible.”
The city needs to develop better distribution systems to get food from the farms to the city, says Leier. “People are concerned with getting good quality on their plate and getting good value but more and more people also want to know where products are coming from,” he says.
The problem is local production is only a fraction of what local demand is, says Garahan. Relationships are being formed but “distribution strategies will have to ramp up at the same pace.” As chair of Just Food’s distribution working group, Garahan is working to help develop new ways to make farms more accessible to ensure farmers are receiving fair wages and to encourage them to sell at local markets.
Buying locally supports not only the farmers, but anyone involved from packaging to advertising to transporting. “Every dollar spent supports a return in the local economy in things connected to that transaction,” says Scott Goldsberry, of Valentino’s Organic Family Gardens.
Goldsberry says he has felt an “explosion of interest” for local foods. “I think when chefs like Mr. Taylor are sourcing foods from local growers it’s a direct response from their clientele who are asking for these things,” he says.
Consumers’ environmental and health concerns fuel their interest in food sources, says Garahan. Many are also opposed to the industrial practices of larger producers or they want to help keep the rural countryside alive.
But sometimes interest in local foods can be much simpler. “It’s taste,” says Garahan. “Taste comes with the freshness.”