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Business Links Chefs To Nearby Produce

Photo by JADEN HAIR

These fish fillets, featuring locally grown spinach, illustrate the power of fresh ingredients.

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By JADEN HAIR

Tribune correspondent

Published: April 2, 2009

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to New York City and Vermont.

The pace in New York is fast and furious. They always tell you that for personal safety, never look like or act like a tourist. I think my flip-flops gave me away. Or maybe it was my handheld talking GPS.

The first night there, I had dinner with Maximillian Riedel, an 11th generation member of the Austrian Riedel stemware family. Fascinating and full of stories, he treated me to a dinner at Corton, the hottest restaurant in town.

Riedel brought along two decanters, each towering about 2 feet above the table. The one I fell in love with is called Eve, in honor of his mother. The hand-blown glass swirls around like a coiled snake. To pour the wine, you have to turn the decanter so the wine flows around the coil, bubbling as it goes. Yes, it really does gurgle and aerate!

We spied Wolfgang Puck sitting down at the next table over, and Riedel said hi to his fellow Austrian. I was too chicken to even look over there!

After two more days of meetings in New York it was off to Vermont to visit a sugar house ... and attend more meetings.

Back home, I received an e-mail from John Matthews of The Suncoast Food Alliance. He's a forager.

You're imagining him wearing a khaki outfit and hat, carrying a walking stick and putting his nose to the ground hunting for mushrooms, but it's a little more sophisticated than that.

Matthews started the business a year ago to source locally grown products from here in West Central Florida. He connects farmers to restaurants, hospitals, schools, nursing homes and, really, any food establishment. What's healthier and tastier than spinach so fresh that you're literally shaking off warm dirt from the leaves? Matthews' service delivers locally grown fruits and vegetables, usually just 24 hours after harvest.

I was invited to a "Farm to Fork" dinner hosted by Matthews and The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota. The folks at the Ritz are pioneers in our area in supporting the farmers in our backyard. Thirty-five of us sat down to dinner along with four of the farmers who provided the ingredients that evening. It was a chance for the farmers to see chefs in action, working with their products. It was a chance for the chefs to talk with the farmers about how each of the ingredients was grown, what it was fed and how it should taste.

It was a dinner of a lifetime that allowed patrons to hear the challenges of being a small farmer in a ginormous food system that makes it almost impossible to make money.

The pork was from Jim Woods of Palmetto Creek Farms; the rhubarb and strawberries were from Hunsader Farms; sturgeon came from Mote Marine, sweet onions (so sweet you can bite into one like an apple) were from Cincotta Ranch; and tat soi was from Worden Farms. Chefs Greg Howe, Chris Southwick and Frederic Chartier from the Ritz worked their magic.

Their talent paired with the best and freshest ingredients in the world was sublime.

Matthews sends a weekly e-mail newsletter with the local market report. It's mainly for the chefs, letting them know which farms have what crops. Sometimes the e-mails are sobering. In January's freeze, King Farms lost 75 percent of its tomato crop. This week Phil Williamson has plenty of organic spinach, encouraging the chefs to create a spinach special on their menu.

By the way, are there any chefs who could use some spinach? Williamson has an amazing crop! Contact Matthews at john@suncoastfoodalliance.com. His Farm to Fork dinners run once a month, and although the restaurants are located in Sarasota County, maybe we can encourage him to expand just a bit farther north.

FISH FILLETS WITH SPINACH AND ONION STIR FRY

Really, this dish should be called "Mote Marine Sturgeon with Williamson Organic Spinach and Cincotta Ranch Savannah Sweet Onions Stir Fry" to pay homage to its source. When you have produce this fresh, you want to cook it minimally: The sweet onions are perfectly caramelized and the spinach quickly stir-fried to maintain its crunch.

4 pieces (6 ounces) fish fillet (about 1-inch thick)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons cooking oil, divided

1 large sweet onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1/4 to 1 teaspoon minced fresh chili pepper (optional, depends on your heat preference)

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon red, white or rice vinegar

Pinch of sugar

Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan (a frying pan with high sides) on medium-high heat until hot and then pour in half of the cooking oil. Fry the fish for 6 minutes, flipping once, until cooked through. Remove the fish to a plate. Return saute pan to the heat and pour in the remaining cooking oil. Add the onions, fry 1 to 2 minutes, add the garlic and the chili pepper. Fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add two handfuls of spinach, fry until starting to wilt and continue adding more handfuls of spinach. As you are cooking the spinach, use tongs to gently lift and flip all the ingredients. Add in the all of the remaining seasonings, stir one more time and serve with the fish. Serves 4.

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