Thursday, December 08, 2005

Farm-To-Fork With Brian's Organic Farm

This Article is part of a series of brief that I wrote documenting Bon Appétit Management Company's Farm-to-Fork program.

Grant Brians - Bon Appétit Farm Brief

Agriculture has always been a passion for Grant Brians, who began farming in 1974, one year after his family relocated to Hollister, Ca. At 14 years of age, he started a business growing onions and celery for seed. He was the youngest commercial grower in the Hollister area and he inspired many of the young men and women in his high school’s FFA chapter to try their hand at commercial farming as well.

Brians was well ahead of the organic boom that began sweeping agriculture in the 1990s and his was one of the first farms to be certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers. Being ahead of the curve meant that Brians had to develop his own markets and the downturn in agriculture in the 1980s made it almost impossible for him to sell his organic row crops at a competitive price through bulk distribution. He refocused his energies, spending most of his time working as an engineer, while continuing to farm on the side.

After more than 20 years of employment in the world of high technology, Brians found himself without a job in the fall of 2003. Shortly thereafter, Brians received a call from Brian Gardiner of America Fresh, an internet-based, organic produce distribution company located in the San Francisco Bay Area. One of Gardiner’s best growers had just retired and Gardiner had to find someone to take his place in order to supply his customers with the rare, organic, heirloom varieties of squash, potatoes, and beans around which they had built much of their cuisine.

“These Bon Appétit chefs really know their produce,” Gardiner explains, “and we had developed an enormous amount of business with them through the Farm-To-Fork program.” Gardiner knew that Brians was exactly the kind of farmer who could fill the void for him. “Because of the scale and nature of our relationship with Bon Appétit,” Gardiner states, “I was able to guarantee Grant a large volume of business with a customer who would pay promptly and would respect both him and his produce.” Within a few weeks, Brians was back in the fields pursuing his passion.

Brians’ fields are producing a staggering array of exotic varieties of produce. Many of these varieties have been phased out of the mainstream produce market because they are frequently non-uniform in both size and color and they are usually suited for specific culinary applications. The twenty-five varieties of potatoes that he grows represent the width and breadth of the potato family with its many textures, colors, and flavors. With names like Yukon Gold, Detroit Red, German Butterball, Kerr’s Pink, and River John Blue, these potatoes are more like characters in a novel than they are a simple starch. The six varieties of squash that he grows, White Scallop, Benning’s Green Tint, Costata Romanesco, Lemon Squash, Golden Squash, and Patisson Marbre, each come with their own unique temperament and their own handling requirements. His many varieties of beans like, Heirloom Yellow Wax, Beurre de Bettencort, and Maxibel, can be paired with a variety of fish, meats, and other vegetables to create landscapes of taste and texture.

Because of the nuanced nature of these heirloom varieties, they appeal to only the most discriminating and adventurous of chefs. “The Bon Appétit chefs are operating on such a high-level,” Gardiner explains, “they demand these varieties because of the broad range of flavor, color and texture that they afford. It is amazing the quality of food that these chefs produce. You can get better meals at your local Bon Appétit account than you can get at most high-end restaurants. We provide them with these fresh, flavorful and nutritious varieties that nobody else grows and in turn they create this amazing cuisine.”

For Grant Brians, growing organic heirloom produce for world-class chefs has been a great experience. His involvement in the Farm-To-Fork program has allowed him to survive financially as he refocused his energies on agriculture. In many ways, heirloom varieties, organic farming, and Bon Appétit‘s commitment to sustainability dovetail into one of his guiding philosophies; that there is a great deal to learn from both the past and the path less traveled. “You need to look forward and back all the time,” he explains, “It is important to make sure that you are not missing things that people knew before and that you don’t forget what your vision for the future is.” For Brians, the Farm-To-Fork program has allowed him to continue the work that had been done in the past in order to build his future. “Having many years of experience as both an organic farmer and as a consumer enjoying excellent taste,” he states, “I welcomed the opportunity in 2005 to provide these crops to Bon Appétit. I look forward to continuing the relationship and expect many years of continued agricultural production. I will continue my life-long commitment to organic farming because of the benefits it affords both to the planet and to the soil that I so deeply care about.”

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