Farm To Table Cuisine, What is it?
As I am sitting in my garden after tilling and planting and redoing my strawberry patch, I am thinking about the harvest that I will have in a few short months. I am thinking about all the wonderful flavors and aromas from fresh Tomatoes, Peas, Zucchini, Green Beans, Asparagus, and Radishes, as well as all the fresh herbs like Basil, Rosemary, oregano, Dill, Sage and lots of Mint. I am thinking of all the fresh meals and how I can put all the things that I have grown together on to a plate. If you have done this you know how satisfying it is to sit down with your family and eat a dinner together from things harvested only a moment before.
In my mind I think that we have lost a connection to the food that we put on our tables. We can easily just step into the supermarket and buy any type of vegetable from any part of the world, Have you looked at where your produce has been grown? California, Ecuador, Mexico, China, New-Zealand for a few and how long does it take to get from the crop to the table? Days, weeks, a month? some do. With all this time that the food sits in boxes in the dark, you lose nutrients and valuable flavors. Most children wouldn't even be able to recognize some of the flavors, although a lot of children are not able to recognize what some vegetables are in there natural form. ask a kindergarten where chicken comes from and they say at the store in a plastic wrapped container. My daughter is completing her early childhood education working with three to five year olds and can attest to this.
So how do we get back there with all our busy schedules, taking the time to grow our own food, I find it hard to find time to sit down on the Internet and continue my blog, search for content and to do on line courses and sometimes wonder where do the people who do this get all the time to do all of it. When the new generation is more likely to play farmville and not go into their backyards dig a hole and plant a few seeds, nurture and water them and come out with something that can help their existence where has it all gone wrong? Maybe because we have someone willing to do it for us, and that is what is happening.
With people wanting to eat healthier and have more flavourful food it has created a trend amongst chefs. This new trend is the Farm to Table craze, you will notice in bigger centers that you will see rooftop gardens, patio gardens and small greenhouses at your friendly neighbourhood eateries. Don't be fooled this isn't something new, it's just another trend coming back like bell bottom jeans or that fabulous 80's hair, In Europe this has been going on for decades (well probably a lot longer than that) in the 80's this was the norm. Chefs and young apprentices would do this and also forage around the wilderness to find the best ingredients to make the best menus that they could to ensure that the guests would keep coming back to their restaurants. This would be the allure to their restaurant and set them out from the crowd of fierce competitors.
Now this doesn't mean that you should go out and get planting, other options you have is to go to your local farmers market, look around for community gardens, work with people in your neighbourhood (yes talk to strangers). There are many ways to enjoy fresher food and the people who are in these gardens and love gardening are usually more than happy to teach the ones who want to learn because what brings people more together than food.
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