Farm-To-Fork with Marin Sun Farms
This is part of a series of briefs that I wrote documenting Bon Appétit Management Company's Farm-To-Fork program.Marin Sun Farms - Bon Appétit Farm Brief
David Evans of Point Reyes, California started Marin Sun Farms in 1999 to produce and market sustainable, humanely raised, great tasting, grass-fed beef. Evans, whose grandfather began farming in Northern California in 1889, is both genetically pre-disposed to ranching and deeply committed to sustainable agriculture. Although his family had sold their cows on the open market, as a commodity, for as long as he could remember, Evans decided to market all his beef under his own brand directly to his customers in his local area.
“There is a dramatic shift underway in the food industry,” Evans explains. “We are moving away from the perfect competition paradigm of the commodity market toward a more brand-oriented paradigm. In order for me to continue to ranch cattle, I had to either dramatically increase both the size of my herd and my reliance on chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics, or I create a sustainable, quality product and differentiate it as its own brand.”
Of the numerous challenges that Evans faced in his new venture, creating a scalable sales channel for beef was the most daunting. Whereas conventional ranchers rely on powerful, fast working, antibiotics and hormones to keep their animals from dying or growing too slowly, Evans’ method dictated that he work with nature to achieve these same goals. Since nature seldom moves as quickly as humans would like, Evans’ product wound require a great deal more time and effort to produce and would be significantly more expensive than conventional beef. Thus, he would need quality-minded, discerning customers to sell his beef at the prices that would be profitable to him.
After working the Farmer’s Markets for a few years, Evans realized that increasing his food service sales would allow him to grow his business significantly. However, as a small producer he was not able to ensure that the same cuts of meat would be available in the same quantities every week. “Unfortunately,” Evans states, “cows are not comprised entirely of prime cuts. One of my biggest challenges was to build my business to the point where I could sell all of the middle meats as well as all of the ground beef. For my business to survive, I would have to be able to sell the whole cow.”
Evans began working with Bon Appétit, through the Farm-to-Fork program, in his third year of business. “He was immediately impressed by the Bon Appétit chef’s level of dedication to sustainability. “Bon Appétit is the perfect example of a large company that is willing to sacrifice convenience in order to do the right thing,” he observes. “After our first meeting, Chef Thom Fox at the Acme Chophouse asked me what cuts I was having the most trouble selling. The fact that he thought about my business needs really blew me away.”
Working with Marin Sun Farms has presented the Bon Appétit chefs with both a challenge and an opportunity. “Early on in the relationship we really had to work on incorporating the whole cow into our menu,” explains Bon Appétit chef Thom Fox form the Acme Chophouse in San Francisco. “Their ground beef is spectacular, and we go through enormous amounts that, but we really had to work at integrating the more obscure cuts of meat into our menu. The great thing about this is that we have become much more creative and flexible in the kitchen.”
“I buy all of my raw beef from Marin Sun Farms,” states Bon Appétit chef Daniel Long of the De Young Museum café in San Francisco. “Since David only harvests a small number of cows per week, we have learned to use nearly everything that he produces. As a result we have discovered a number of great cuts that you just can’t get anywhere else. The velvet steak, for example, a cut that I had never heard of before I began working with David, is one of the best steaks to use in a cold salad. These are the sorts of discoveries that thrill our diners as well as our chefs.”
For David Evans working with Bon Appétit has been both a tremendous personal experience and a fundamental business opportunity. “When I started working with Bon Appétit,” he says, “I really needed a few consistent, large-volume accounts. Even though I have demand from all over the country, I don’t ship my product anywhere. In my mind that sort of business is just not sustainable. Bon Appétit’s support and flexibility has really allowed me to succeed on this local level.”
The future of the Marin Sun Farms-Bon Appétit relationship is bright indeed. “We want to help David grow his business,” Thom Fox explains. “Buy paying his premium price now, we are helping build his future. As his market grows, we will benefit from a little more flexibility in his prices.”
“Bon Appétit is so far ahead of the curve,” Evans states. “They have essentially told me that they will open up more accounts to me as I scale to serve them. This is such a progressive stance. They truly practice what they preach through the Farm-to-Fork program. They bend to work with me in order that I can scale to better work with them. It is a rare and beautiful thing.”
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posted by Brian J. Kenny @ 5:57 PM
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