Executive chef Craig Richards of Lidia's Pittsburgh convened a meeting last week of area chefs and the farmers, mainly organic or sustainable, who supply them to hear about new products and to convey each others' needs, and to do so in advance of the growing season.
Guest speaker was restaurateur Lidia Bastianich, who stressed the importance of a restaurant seeking out talented farmers and superior products: "Our job is to exalt the product. It is the chef's job to re-find the flavors it has been given by nature. It is unthinkable that chefs wouldn't do that."
Richards said, "As a chef, I am only as good as the product I have in my hand." He urged chefs to press farmers for what they want.
Chefs representing more than a dozen restaurants met and mingled with 40 Western Pennsylvania farmers, including members of Plough, an organic marketing co-op headed by CSA (produce by subscription) farmer Don Kretschmann. Also represented were members of Penn's Corner Farm Alliance, longtime suppliers to restaurants, and Farmers at the Firehouse, a farmers' market in the Strip, both groups headed by organic farmers Pam Bryan and Doyle Freeman.
Also speaking was Dave Eson, director of Southwest Programs for the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). PASA's first full-time administrator in this region, Eson has created a grid system to better connect growers and chefs by matching farmers' specialties and restaurants' needs.
Farmers interested in advice on selling to restaurants may contact Richards at Lidia's Pittsburgh, 412-552-0150, or Esor at PASA, 412-997-2343, or at david@pasafarming.org.
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