Farm-To-Fork With Even Star Organic Farm
This is part of a series that I wrote documenting Bon Appétit Management Company's Farm-To-Fork Program.Even Star Organic Farm – Bon Appétit Farm Brief
Brett Grohsgal of Even Star Organic Farm had been farming for nine years when he met Keith Costas at the farmer’s market in Chevy Chase, Md in 2002. Grohsgal, a former chef, and his wife, Dr. Christine Bergmark, a marketing specialist for the state of Maryland, were in the process of radically scaling back their wholesale accounts and moving to a subscription-based community supported agriculture (CSA) model. Feeling that the wholesale market was a dead-end, Grohsgal was both skeptical and disinterested when Costas, Bon Appétit’s General Manager at American University, told him about Bon Appétit’s Farm-To-Fork program.
Grohsgal’s initial reaction was that anyone representing a large, nationwide corporation was not worthy of trust, and did not deserve access to Even Star’s product. “Wholesale restaurant buyers are happy to pay top dollar for meat and fish,” Grohsgal explains, “however, they think that produce should be free and it essentially subsidizes the restaurant at the farmer’s expense. I couldn’t imagine that Bon Appétit could be any different.” However, after some discussion, Costas was able to convince Grohsgal to allow two Bon Appétit chefs to visit his farm.
The meeting began with Grohsgal explaining his position on the wholesale market. “He told me very clearly that he categorically refused to work with corporations, because they don't share his values of care for the land,” says Kimberley Tripplett, Executive Chef at American University. Tripplet and James Cavanaugh, her sous chef, undeterred by Grohsgal’s outspoken view, spent the better part of the day talking extensively with him about Bon Appétit's philosophy of sustainability. They also took the opportunity to sample Even Star’s produce; golden melons, squash flowers, and tri-colored organic tomatoes.
Despite its inauspicious start, the day ended with Bon Appétit’s first purchase of Even Star produce. It was clear to Grohsgal that Bon Appétit was a very unique company. “Kimberly came to the farm with a blank check,” he states, “she recognized the quality of our product and was happy to pay us for it. We were in the process of weaning all of our bad accounts away, but I had to give Bon Appétit a chance to work with us because they had walked the talk with me once.”
After six deliveries, Grohsgal began to believe in the promise of Farm-To-Fork. He had sold Bon Appétit a great deal of heirloom and cherry tomatoes as well as a wide variety of esoteric peppers, cucumbers, and watermelons. He would also be selling them large amounts of sweet potatoes, winter greens like tatsoi, arugula, mixed kales, and winter squashes, including Grohsgal’s favorite winter squash, courge lonque de nice. In short, he realized that Bon Appétit was buying large volumes of unique produce, that they were paying him promptly for his produce, that they were respectful of him as a farmer, and that they were using his produce in highly innovative ways.
“They have been extraordinarily creative in ways that you would never expect in a cafeteria environment. For example Kimberley and James made this incredible pesto with tatsoi, ginger, toasted sesame seeds, and sesame oil; it stunned me, it was that good. It is one thing to respect the farmer by paying quickly but it is another thing entirely to respect food and to create phenomenal things with it. Bon Appétit chefs are frequently as good as the three star chefs that we work with in white tablecloth restaurants. What is truly amazing is that they are creating food of this caliber for students. That is what made me realize that Bon Appétit is totally sincere about their mission.
Time has strengthened the relationship and the mutual respect between Even Star and Bon Appétit. “We don’t just have a good relationship with Bon Appétit,” Grosghal explains, “we have never had a bad experience with them and that is as glorious as it is rare. “I started farming because life’s too short to eat bad food,” Grohsgal states, “from the top down, Bon Appétit gets this. Unlike most food service companies, the buyers think like the chefs and the chefs treat our food with great respect and care. I won’t sell to somebody who is abusing my food.”
These days, business is booming for Even Star Organic Farms. Their CSA program is completely booked, they have a waiting list for new customers, and the demand for their food greatly outstrips their production. Despite this fact, Grohsgal cannot conceive of a future without Bon Appétit. “I see no point in the distant future at which we will not be selling to Bon Appétit,” he explains. “People and good relationships count in business, and the people and the practices at Bon Appétit, especially the Farm-To-Fork program, have forced my stubborn mind to concede that some nationwide corporations can really help, rather than hurt, small farms.”
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posted by Brian J. Kenny @ 10:12 PM
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