For this Saturday’s dinner, CVI didn’t have to look too far as the guest chef  is AMP 150′s Ellis Cooley. Here’s the impressive menu:

Small Bites

Large Bites

Gardens

Desserts

Tickets are $75 a piece and there are still a few left. And for one lucky person, you can win two right here. If you’d like to be considered, just leave a comment to this post telling me your favorite local farmer or purveyor to support. You must be available to go this Saturday and leave a comment by Wednesday, 3/9, by noon when I’ll select someone via Random.org. Good luck!

1. How many bow ties do you own and what’s the story behind it? I got the privilege of meeting Freddy Girardet, one of Charlie Trotter’s mentors, a living legend from Switzerland.  He is in his 70s now; many people say he closed his restaurant too early and I’ve actually met people who have been tearful that his restaurant is no longer there.  But I had the privilege of speaking with him one night and he said to me, “Back when I was your age, the farmer and chef got very little respect for what they did.  It is so ironic to see that we have gained respect for what we do now.”

I think regardless of what occupation we have, we can take pride in it.  There used to be a saying, “If you can’t make it in the real world you can always go back and work on the farm.” It wasn’t a career that was looked upon highly.  So one of the things behind the bow ties is, I am a farmer and I am not afraid or ashamed to be who I am.

My dad has a saying, “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, so you might as well go as what you are.”  On my best day you couldn’t place a $500 suit on me.  I am what I am and I am not ashamed of that.  I don’t like to be boastful or proud, but I take pride in what we do and the way we do it.  We do it to the best of our ability.

One of the few books I read in high school, and they also have a movie, was “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck.  Every once in a while I watch it when it’s on television, and every single time I watch it, I cry.  It’s about growers during the Great Depression that were displaced out West and in Oklahoma; farmers were pushed off their land and lost their farms and were looking for a way to survive.  Through it all, there was a scene where they were so destitute, they lost all their money and they had very little hope.  Yet, on a Saturday night, they cleaned up and had a square dance.

The overalls they wore were torn and tattered but they were clean.  The farmers put on their bowties.  Even as down trodden as they were and with as little respect as they had, they held their dignity and they were proud of who they were.  I think really that is what the crux of it is.

We have a registered trademark on the overalls and red bowtie; it is part of our brand and I try to represent all the family farms out there in America, to show that we can be proud of what we do and that there is a place for us here.  It has been so rewarding in so many ways to see society coming around to the fact that we do have a worthy place in society and value what we do.  It’s fun and it’s exciting to see the renewed interest and resurgence of farmer’s markets and other farms doing well.  It is just a very rewarding thing, taking pride in what we do.

But, to answer your question, I have about 24 bowties.

2. What is your advice for home gardeners? Several things come to mind when you ask advice for home gardeners.  My first advice would be to keep gardening!  My second advice would be to continue to make mistakes.  Document, document, document your work: document your mistakes; document what worked; document what didn’t.  From planting to planting and from year to year, it all runs together, so I think good records are imperative.

Another suggestion would be not to farm all of your land or all of your plot at once.  Continue to rebuild nutrients and find ways to do that naturally with rye or vetch clover; rye in particular is a cheap seed.  Take a third of your land and plant rye, or if you can, plant your whole garden to rye in the fall at least the first year.

It is our belief that God designed a system far superior to anything we can fake out.  If you can visualize a plant as an antenna, it will accept natural energy from the sun and emit it out through the roots to the next set of crops.  So, in the spring, leave one-third in rye and allow it to continue to collect energy.  Plant your spring crop in the second third and then as you get to a frost-free date, plant the third section with tomatoes and eggplant and squash and other things that are frost sensitive.

In that first section that you leave fallow, you can start the rye as early as March or April in our region.  Then plant the things that like the cool temperatures.  Radishes, spinach, lettuces, and greens will all tolerate a freeze.  Plant peas or potatoes here too.  Then, as your radishes and lettuces start finishing up, go ahead and begin to till in the rye in the first planting.  Go ahead and do your second planting of radishes and lettuces in mid summer in the section you had the rye in. Just continue to rotate and allow the land periods of rest.

Rotation in commercial farming means something totally different because they plant all three thirds of the land all the time.  They rotate the crops between the fields, but never give it a rest.  Can you imagine your body if you never took a vacation or a rest or allow it to rejuvenate?

Without writing a book on gardening, that’s some sound advice I recommend.  Essentially you are trying to work in harmony with nature and not outsmart it.

3. Explain how the vegetables from your garden differ from those at the grocery store? Wow, we can fill a whole page with this.  We have a saying that we farm the soil rather than the crop, again, working in harmony with the soil and trying to get the biology right.  We do lab analysis on soil and based on the deficiencies plant different types of cover crops that will accept different types of energy from the sun.

Then it comes down to seed selection.  The varieties we select are grown for flavor rather than yield.  The Seed Savers Exchange is something any one of your readers can become a member of.  It’s a group of us that thinks maintaining old heirloom varieties is important and if you have a variety you can share it with other folks.  I would recommend anyone that is interested to become a member.

Beyond the seed and the soil, only a third of our land is in production.  We have about 100 acres in production, 100 sitting fallow and another 100 growing very specific ingredients for compost.  We harvest those, fold them into the compost and put those composts back into the soil.  The result is unbelievable that you can see with working in harmony with nature and not trying to out smart it.

The final difference is the way the product is handled.  We don’t believe the product should be harvested and wait to be sold.  Product remains in our “growing” inventory until the chef’s order them, and for the first time home users can purchase online.

4. If you weren’t a farmer, what would you be doing? Well, I would be very, very disappointed.  I can’t imagine, absolutely cannot imagine, what I would be doing.  From five years on, I was helping in the field up until we lost the farm.  It was never a question if whether we were going to farm, just how we were going to do it.

5. What’s the best plate you’ve ever had and who was the chef behind it? Oh golly!  As you can tell by the size of my belly, I love food and it would be really hard to hone in on a best dish, but I can identify one of the most special occasions, food related.  My folks, my dad especially, felt he had failed the family when we lost the farm.  He was devastated; they crawled away with nothing.  For 10 years we worked without a check, yet there were so many rewards that came along other than monetary ones, for example, to be able to work together as a family.  It’s the only reason we survived.

It’s hard to really point out specific chefs because there have been so many that have helped.  But Charlie Trotter has been a huge mentor and guide for us.  Many of you know Ferran Adrià; he is the fella who invented the foams. He is from Madrid, near Barcelona, and is considered by some to be the greatest chef in the world.  I don’t know how you judge that, but I have heard it said many times.  Charlie Trotter flew out here with his team and brought Ferran Adrià and his wife.  About 16 local chefs were invited to help, and they prepared a 12-course lunch one day for my parents, my wife and me, Ferran Adrià and his wife, Charlie Trotter, Ray Harris, a fella from Inc. Magazine and a few others.

We got to sit down and break bread together for a lunch with that group of people and as long as I still have a memory that will be one of the most special days – for my parents to be able to sit down with someone who people think is the best chef in the world and to have him tour what we are doing.  It is truly, truly, truly one of the most special days in my life.  So I guess that would be the best plate of food I have ever had and the chef behind it.

6. What is the biggest challenge that faces the farming industry? It is very difficult for a farm to remain a farm.  There are so many challenges.  We have to compete for the best farm ground with other industries and real estate, so that is certainly a challenge.  Producing food cheap continues to be what’s important in industrial food production.  About 5 percent of the farms produce about 80 percent of the volume.  They have a lot of power and they are changing laws to benefit themselves rather than the small farm.  I think we got real issues facing us there.  We could go on and on about that subject.

For that reason, I think it is important for users to continue placing an emphasis on knowing where their product is from, although I don’t get wrapped up in local.  I think if we make the emphasis on the distance a product travels from where it is grown rather than how the product is grown, we could lose sight of what got this movement started.  It is important for us to have that connection, or re-connection, with users and producers who share like-minded philosophies

7. Most unusual item a chef has requested you grow? That is a tough question.  Different chefs recognize needs for different things.  You know, about twenty five years ago we started researching radicchio.  It was unknown in the United States and several folks said it actually couldn’t be grown here, so early on that was one of the most unusual.  It took us a while to get used to things like purple Brussels sprouts.

Micro Greens were pretty uncommon once too.  We were instrumental in developing those 20 years ago, and they are a mainstay today.  White Asparagus is something that was unheard of in this country and we developed a way of growing it so it doesn’t have to be peeled.

One of the most difficult ones, up to this point, has been crosnes.  It’s a starch, tuber type plant that is grown in Crosnes, France. With a similar flavor and texture to nuts, it’s a great substitute when nut allergies are an issue.

8. What TV show do you never miss? Well, gee, it is hard to miss the Food Network.  It is so amazing to sit and watch television and see so many of the folks we work with, chefs who are committed to what we do and have this nationwide platform to tell others about it.

“Iron Chef” is obviously one that is close to the heart since I have gotten to judge that a couple of times.  “Chopped” is another we like to watch, and my good friend Kenny Gilbert is doing great on “Top Chef” this season.

9. How many chefs have stayed at CVI?  What is their overall involvement? I’m not sure of the total, but there have been many hundreds of chefs that have stayed at the Culinary Vegetable Institute.  There have been even more than that who have been instrumental in supporting the project and helping us build it.  To help connect us to people who had kitchen equipment and china and things like that.

I am speechless at the enormous help and support.  The culinary industry is one of the most giving groups of people and we are eternally grateful for our relationship with all the chefs.  It is so hard to pinpoint any one particular chef because there have been so many that have helped in so many different ways.  We just would not be here without them.

10.  The Food & Wine event is the biggest event for you each year.  Tell us a little about it and why it’s a must-attend for readers? The Food and Wine Celebration is one of those things that’s almost mind boggling for me.  There are folks who work with us all year who come and help us put on this event on behalf of our Veggie U program – a program that empowers children and lets them know they have a choice in food while weaving in the math and science end to help prepare them for their proficiency tests.  As important, we believe, as empowering children and letting them know they have choices in food, they get seeds, soil, compost, a worm farm and a grow light.  It is a hands-on program.  The Food and Wine Celebration is to generate awareness and revenue for Veggie U.

There are so many synergies that happen.  Chefs come in, literally, from all over the country.  There are high school and college culinary students and instructors who come to work under the tutelage of the visiting chefs. Because we do so many different Earth to Table events at the CVI, in addition to the Food & Wine, students get to come build relationships with chefs, and then you move on with those networking connections.  I know Russell Ashton from Lorain JVS under Tim Mitsich volunteered much of his time here when he was a high school student and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and went on to do a stage at Stein Ericksen.  Chef Zane Holmequist out there let him come out and spend three months, and he met him here at the Food & Wine event.

For food enthusiasts, it is one of those opportunities to really explore the entire United States and sometimes out of the United States.  There is no place else in the United States on the third Saturday in July that has more talent under one roof.  There are huge tents with tasting stations where chefs are preparing their dishes, obviously with products in season and proteins, and you can taste as much as you want.  It is not a vegetarian event, but certainly the proteins ties in with the veggies.  There are some great wine producers and vintners pouring their specialties and an auction that goes to support Veggie U.

It’s just a really a great atmosphere with a tremendous collection of some of the top talent in the world for a great cause.  It is the culinary event of the year in Northern Ohio.

11. Did you eat your veggies as a kid?  What’s your favorite now and how do you prepare it? I did.  As you can see, I love to eat.  I love vegetables but unfortunately, I love it all.  It’s been one of those things that has been tough for me to control, because every chef wants to share what they’re excited about and I love to eat.  It’s one of those things I do struggle.

When somebody asks me what my favorite veggie is, I always say, what season is it?  My point is I want to eat asparagus three times a day when it’s in season and then I will lust for it for 10 months.  I don’t want to see asparagus on a menu in November or December.  There is a cyclical rhythm to things that is natural.  I think our bodies look for and need and demand different types of nutrients that only vegetables offer. I truly believe if we listen to our bodies and eat seasonally,  that we’ll be a healthier society.

Perhaps the biggest issue here is that many of the people making poor food choices are also making them for their kids. Kids who are growing up on fast food and processed garbage. Kids that can’t recognize a tomato from a potato. Kids that are becoming plagued with juvenile diabetes. And kids that represent the first generation not expected to outlive their parents.

Of course there are a lot of factors contributing to this dilemma. And there are varying perspectives on what to do about it. We’re not going to easily solve the problem, but we can start today by trying to make a difference right here in our community.

We can help 4^th graders in Cleveland learn about food. Learn about farming. And understand where their meals come from and the benefits of making smart choices early on. And then they can take that newfound excitement and knowledge home to their parents and start a conversation about what they eat and begin to make better choices as a family.

Last school year, Cleveland Foodie readers together with local chefs and businesses raised $3,820 for Veggie U. Which ultimately saved the program in our city. For those of you that don’t know, Veggie U is a national program that promotes the well-being of children through a healthy lifestyle with a focus on making wise food choices, combating adolescent and juvenile disease, and attaining an understanding of sustainable agriculture. The program provides a complete kit and lesson plans to teachers to help educate their students through hands-on, fun curricula. There are 157 participating classrooms in our area and each kit costs $225. At the end of the program, students understand the connection between agriculture, good nutrition and the culinary arts.

Well Cleveland, these kids and teachers need our help once again. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, I know you care about food and our community. And I am going to assume you also have an extra $5 and are willing to skip your daily latte in lieu of supporting this inspirational program. Now I understand many of us are active in other charities and freely donate our time and money to those in need. So if you can’t donate, that’s completely understandable. But if you can, you have the opportunity to not just help curtail a growing epidemic, but turn your donation into free local eats for the next year!

Like last time, if you donate $5 to Veggie U, you will automatically be entered to win more than $2,350 worth of gift cards to all your favorite eateries and shops. Want to increase your odds? Donate $10, $25, $50 or more. For every $5 you donate, you will earn another entry into the drawing. The more you donate, the greater your chance of winning. You have until December 23 to donate and be entered. It’s easy – just call 419.499.7500 M-F, 9a.m. – 5 p.m.; you must reference Cleveland Foodie. A winner will be picked using random.org on the 24th.

I can’t think of a city that boasts more generosity or positive goodwill to help each other out. Almost immediately after asking, area chefs and business owners quickly agreed to help the cause. I know I sound like a broken record, but we have an amazing community and I am touched by their continued generosity and willingness to always pitch in and help. Thank you to each of you for agreeing to participate.

One incredibly lucky diner will spend the year eating and drinking their way throughout Cleveland:

• The Greenhouse Tavern / $100 gift card (look for a separate Veggie U benefit coming soon from GHT)
• The Flying Fig / $50 gift card
• Lola / $50 gift card
• Washington Place Bistro & Inn / $50 gift card plus a night at the inn!
• The Welschfield Inn / $50 gift card
• 87 West 2 / $50 gift card
• Menu6 / $50 gift card
• Chinato / $50 gift card
• Parallax / $50 gift card
• L’Albatros / $50 gift card
• Table 45 / $50 gift card
• Moxie / $50 gift card
• Red / $50 gift card
• Melt / $50 gift card
• Fire / $50 gift card
• Momocho / $50 gift card (chef Eric Williams also made an additional $250 donation to Veggie U!)
• Heinen’s / $50 gift card
• Blue Canyon / $50 gift card
• Fahrenheit / $200 gift card
• Michaelangelo’s / $50 gift card
• Umami / $50 gift card
• AMP150 / $50 gift card
• Dante / $50 gift card
• Miles Farmer’s Market / $50 gift card
• Crop Bistro / $50 gift card
• Jeni’s Ice Creams / $50 gift card
• Tartine / $50
• Light Bistro / $50 gift card
• Sum Place/Dim & Den Sum / $50 gift card
• A Cookie and a Cupcake / $50 gift card
• Western Reserve Wines / $50 gift card
• Bodega / $50 gift card
• Palate Restaurant & Lounge / $50 gift card
• Burntwood Tavern / $50 gift card
• Deagan’s Kitchen & Bar / $50 gift card
• Middle East Grill / $50 gift card
• Happy Chix Farms / 5 whole chickens ($50 value)

• Erie Island Coffee / $50 gift card

• Plus two tickets to your choice of an earth to table Dinner at the Culinary Vegetable Institute

To kick it off, Jamie and I will donate $100 (we will not be counted for the drawing). If you’re a follower of this blog I can only assume it’s an issue that matters to you, too. Let’s follow the lead of our chefs and business owners and show what the Cleveland food community can accomplish when we work together. I hope you’ll join us by making a donation.

Thank You

For the past 8 years, The Culinary Vegetable Institute and The Chef’s Garden host a fundraiser to support and promote Veggie U. This year we were lucky enough to attend the Food & Wine celebration with over 30 participating chefs and wineries offering tastings throughout the night on the grounds of the farm under one big (read: HOT) tent. Despite the heat (and bugs), it was a simply outstanding event. We ate, drank, ate some more, made some new friends, reacquainted with old ones, and then ate and drank once again. Truthfully, this was a fabulous event and evening – we had a ball and will continue to attend and support Veggie U and its mission of helping kids make better food choices and understand where their food comes from for years to come.

In between all the good eats, chatter and laughter, we learned a  little Cleveland  food scoop.

I ran into the ladies behind The Lounging Gourmet.

After meeting and briefly talking with Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni’s Ice Cream, she shared that she’s working on a cookbook that will spill all her delicious little secrets and is actively scouting out Cleveland for a location (maybe by this spring?). Speaking of cookbooks, you may have heard that the Sawyers are working on one too – and getting fairly close to sharing plans for restaurant #2. Finally, ran into a former classmate of mine, Scott Kuhn, who shared that he’s in the process of a major renovation of an old building on the other end of Chagrin Falls (was formerly private property up until now) for a microbrewery (he’s hoping it will mirror some of his favorites in Portland). Much more to come on this.

My favorite dish of the night was a tie between the braised pork belly from chef Craig Deihl at  Cypress in Charleston (I’m heading outside Charleston for vacation this August, will have to make a trip to check out his restaurant) and squash blossoms stuffed with sweet corn, Chevre and spicy peach chutney via chef Michael Delligatta from The Inn at Verailles. Wow. Wow. Wow. I was not familiar with him or this inn, but what an impression this dish made. I also enjoyed the watermelon and cucumber salad from Three Birds and bison flank steak bahn mi with foie gras butter and your choice of toppings from chef Beej Flamholz. Best in show would have to go to Ann Blackwood of Kalahari. She had at least five beautifully decorated desserts with amazing detail. Personally, I didn’t care for the taste of the sweets but Jamie sure did, making a few stops for these tiny chocolate ganache bites with lavender flowers. Chef Jonathon Sawyer of The Greenhouse Tavern demoing his Ratatouille Provence along with Jay (also pictured above with chef Lee Ann Wong, Jay and Amelia) was also fun and informative.

Thanks to Michelle Demuth-Bibb of The Chef’s Garden for sharing some of the pics.

So what happened in February you ask? How quickly you forget. That’s when Cleveland Foodie readers and local chefs came together and saved the Veggie U program within Cleveland schools by raisising over $3,800. Have I mentioned that I hands-down have the best readers in town?

You now have another chance to help the greater Veggie U program which educates 4^th graders on the importance of making wise food choices and understanding where their food comes from. The 2010 Food and Wine Celebration to benefit the Veggie U children’s program will take place on July 17. This annual gathering features gourmet cuisine prepared by chefs from all over the country plus wines from top vineyards, cooking demos and a silent auction.

The event takes place on the absolutely beautiful grounds of The Culinary Vegetable Institute. Demonstrations and participating chefs include Food & Wine Best New Chef Jonathon Sawyer, James Beard winner Chef Martha Foose and former Top Chef contestants, Chefs Lee Anne Wong and Dave Martin. Emceeing the benefit is TV host and award-winning chef, Bob Waggoner.

Tickets are on sale now. The great folks at Veggie U gave me two tickets to give away to one lucky reader, valued at $175 each. If you would like to be entered for a chance to win via random.org, please leave a comment to this post between now and Friday, July 2nd telling us what your favorite meal was from your childhood (mine was my gram’s spaghetti and meatballs – she made the best sauce and always made this for me whenever I was craving it, even when I’d visit during college. It always tasted the exact same – simply perfect).

Speaking of the local 4^th graders we helped, Barb Jones, assistant director of Veggie U (and farmer Lee’s mom), shared the following from some participating teachers:  When asked what part of the Veggie U Science program she liked best, one fourth-grade teacher said, “The abundance of materials and resources included in each unit. It was very nice to have the ability for the students to have real examples in the classroom.”

Another said, “The worm farm was a favorite part for my kids, they also loved planting and watching the plants grow”. “The kids loved trying some vegetables for the first time.”

The Veggie U program was delivered to 187 Cleveland 4th grade classrooms this spring at a cost of $200 per classroom. The folks who helped via Cleveland Foodie can feel great about helping these kids, she added.

By the way, if you do plan to attend the 8^th annual Food and Wine Celebration (and I hope you do – we’ll be there!), be sure to check out the site for special rates on accommodations if you plan to stay overnight. The CVI is located in Milan, which is near Cedar Point.

Veggie U Fun Facts

• Veggie U is currently in 24 states and 1,800 classrooms
• Veggie U was born in the spring of 2003 and for the following 18 months, a group of dedicated educators and nutritionists donated their time and talents to create a curriculum which meets the benchmarks of the 4th grade national science standards set forth by the No Child Left Behind Initiative
• The mission of Veggie U is to promote the well-being of children through a healthy lifestyle
• Veggie U is dedicated to the creation and distribution of curricula nationally with a focus on making wise food choices, combating adolescent and juvenile disease and attaining and understanding of sustainable agriculture
• For every one child in the program, an estimated 12 additional people are reached with the message
• Our vision is to place the Earth to Table program in every one of the 93,000 4th grade classrooms in the nation

(and I’m willing to bet you’d happily exchange that $5 for free dinner out the rest of the year.)

After meeting Farmer Lee Jones, I learned about the Veggie U initiative, a national program that promotes the well-being of children through a healthy lifestyle with a focus on making wise food choices, combating adolescent and juvenile disease, and attaining an understanding of sustainable agriculture. The program is embraced and loved by teachers and students alike. Locally, 150 schools in the Cleveland Metro School District have been using the 4^th grade Veggie U science program. Unfortunately, they don’t have any funding to continue as $200 per classroom is needed to fund the kits.

On the way home from that initial meeting and fabulous dinner, we had an idea to try to help these students and teachers. Would you be willing to donate a minimum of $5 to help this cause? That’s your morning Starbucks. If we all help and spread the word, we have an opportunity to make a difference here. And if you’ve watched the news lately, you know Cleveland students can use a little bit of good news.

If you donate $5 to Veggie U, you will automatically be entered to win more than $1,900 worth of gift cards to all your favorite eateries and shops. Want to increase your odds? Donate $10, $25, $50 or more (I promise you won’t miss $25). For every $5 you donate, you will earn another entry into the drawing. The more you donate, the greater your chance of winning. You have until February 12 to donate and be entered. It’s easy – just call 419.499.7500; you must reference Cleveland Foodie (a winner will be picked using random.org).

As soon as we worked out all the details with Veggie U, I reached out to the chefs and owners to share the idea and ask for support. Almost immediately I started to hear back. The backing of our food community and willingness to work together to help all sorts of causes beyond this is inspiring, admirable and personally greatly appreciated by myself. Thank you to everyone for your generosity and willingness to pitch in.

One incredibly lucky diner will spend the year eating and drinking their way throughout Cleveland:

And to top it all off, the winner will receive one ticket to their choice of upcoming dinners at The Culinary Vegetable Institute (you’re in for a real treat here) and The Chefs Garden will send you one of their e-commerce family boxes.

To kick it off, Jamie and I will donate $100 (we will not be counted for the drawing). Would you also consider making a pledge? I know times are tough for many, and if you can’t, it’s completely understandable. But if you’re able to give something back and if you’re a follower of this blog I can only assume it’s a greater cause that matters to you, please call. Let’s follow the lead of our chefs and local owners and show what the Cleveland food community can accomplish when we work together.

Thank You.

Update: Just learned that The Culinary Vegetable Institute will give a copy of the 2009 official cookbook of the Food & Wine Celebration to the first 40 people that donate $50 or more!