This post appeared in WRAL.com’s What’s on Tap on 5/9/2017.  Read the original version here.

By Jill Warren Lucas

CARRBORO, N.C. — Since he opened Pizzeria Mercato 15 months ago, Gabe Barker has had little time to do anything but create pizzas and Italian-influenced sides that make best use of locally grown ingredients.

The hard work has earned extraordinary accolades, ranging from Bon Appetit declaring his Carrboro restaurant one of The 3 Best New Pizza Joints in America to the James Beard Foundation naming him a 2017 semifinalist for its Rising Star Chef of the Year award.

And yes, let’s not forget that Eater restaurant critic Bill Addison was so keen on one of Mercato’s desserts, a custard cake topped with strawberries and vanilla bean ice cream made by the chef’s mother, that he included it among The 12 Most Utterly Gorgeous Plates of Food he ate in 2016. (Barker’s parents, Karen and Ben Barker, James Beard Award winners who formerly operated Durham’s Magnolia Grill, provide occasional consulting but are not involved day to day operations.)

Mercato’s popularity is allowing its founder a little breathing room now, including time to participate in events he’s long admired. Chief among them is the Farm to Fork Picnic Weekend, which will mark its 10th year of celebrating the connections between sustainable farmers, chefs and culinary artisans on June 2-4.

Barker will be paired at the annual picnic with Alex and Betsy Hitt of Peregrine Farm.

Every ticket sold for Farm to Fork events benefits the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), which develops and promotes equitable food and farming systems that strengthen communities and improve health outcomes. It also provides training and mentorship for beginning farmers.

Barker, who intentionally located across the street from the renowned Carrboro Farmers Market, has a deep respect for the labor of farmers who deliver seasonal produce to his kitchen.

“When you cook the style of food that I do, which is simplified and a more straight forward style than how my father cooks, everything depends on the ingredients,” he says. “We have really great growers. I work really hard all day, but I can’t imagine taking on their responsibilities. I have an immense amount of respect for people who choose that as a profession.”

The little boy that used to tag along with his parents at the market has matured to appreciate the close relationships forged between growers and chefs who depend on each other for success.

“A lot of people in my generation and younger don’t think about food systems and the people who grow the food; the immigrant workers who pick the celery, for example,” he says. “I feel obligated to help support them. Not only from a local economic standpoint, but that’s the way things should be done. The truth is, you should utilize what grows best at the time by the local farmers who grow it.”

His ability to maximize the flavors of fresh produce – and turn out a crisp, Neopolitan-style crust where blistered spots are worth fighting over for their smoky bite – has earned Barker steady crowds and critical acclaim. He was stunned, however, to attract attention from the Beard Foundation so early in his career.

“It was a complete and utter shock to be nominated,” Barker says. “I hope it’s a reflection of us doing interesting food that is slightly better. We’ll always use what is local and in season, and we’ll always push ourselves to be better.”

WRAL is a sponsor of the 10th anniversary Farm to Fork Picnic Weekend, which will be held June 2-4 in Raleigh and Fearrington Village. Order tickets at www.farmtoforknc.com.

This article appeared in Triangle Downtowner Magazine on 5/15/2017.  Read the original version here.

By Jill Warren Lucas

If not for a drought, one of the Triangle’s best-known events to celebrate sustainable farming might not have launched the Farm to Fork Picnic Weekend, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary June 2-4 with events in Raleigh and Fearrington Village.

In 2007, with just weeks to prepare a proper welcome for Slow Food Movement founder Carlo Petrini, Portia McKnight was asked if she and partner Flo Hawley would be open to hosting a gathering on pasture land typically occupied by Chapel Hill Creamery’s cows and pigs. The event would challenge about 30 farmers and chefs to collaborate on creating dishes that made best use of locally raised, seasonal ingredients.

Oh, and there also would be hundreds of attendees, including farmers market advocates and fans of chefs destined to win prestigious culinary honors.

“Normally, a farmer doesn’t hope for a drought, but it helped to protect the pasture that day,” recalls McKnight, who has participated each year. “The fact that the soil was compacted and there was very little grass made it easier to say yes.”

McKnight recalls the excitement of chefs and their teams, some of whom spent the previous night on the land, cooking and helping to tend her animals. “It was a very heartwarming occasion,” she says. “And it sold out so quickly. One of our regular customers begged to help park cars just so she could be there.”

Andrea Reusing, who was named 2011 Best Chef Southeast by the James Beard Foundation for her work at Lantern in Chapel Hill, understands the buzz. Months before Petrini’s arrival, she attended his Terra Madre convivium in Turin, Italy, which also drew Alex and Betsy Hitt of Peregrine Farm in Graham, Stanley Hughes of Pine Knot Farms in Hurdle Mills, and the late Bill Dow of Ayrshire Farm in Chatham County, which was North Carolina’s first certified organic farm. She returned home deeply inspired and with a stronger sense of mission about promoting sustainable farming.

“The picnic was basically about having those farmers who had been at Terra Madre pair with a local chef to create this meal,” explains Reusing, who has since opened a second acclaimed restaurant at The Durham Hotel, which hosted a Farm to Fork dinner last year. “It was conceived totally as a one-off to celebrate Carlo being here. We never imagined it would grow into what it’s become today.”

The nonprofit Farm to Fork Picnic Weekend has grown into a three-day event that consistently features top Triangle chefs, farmers, culinary artisans and beverage producers. This year’s keynote speaker at the June 2 Sustainable Supper is culinary historian and food justice advocate Michael W. Twitty, who has conducted extensive and deeply personal research on enslavement in North Carolina and across the South. His eagerly anticipated book, “The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African-American Culinary History in the Old South,” will be published in August.

As much as Farm to Fork is a thinking foodie’s delight, it also is a fundraiser. Proceeds support the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), which develops and promotes just and equitable food and farming systems that conserve natural resources, strengthen communities, improve health outcomes, and provides economic opportunities in North Carolina and beyond, and the PLANT Farm Enterprise Incubator at the W.C. Breeze Family Farm in Hurdle Mills, which incubates new farmers and offers training on small scale sustainable farming techniques.

CEFS Director Nancy Creamer says Farm to Fork not only helps beginning farmers prepare for lasting success but also creates and builds vital relationships among farmers and restaurants that need to source fresh ingredients.

“The benefit for both is exposure; the opportunity to create new markets and connect with a larger consumer base,” says Creamer, a professor of sustainable agriculture and community-based food systems at N.C. State. “It’s a great way to keep the community engaged and aware of what it takes to put food on the table.”

In addition to the many well-established chefs that regularly participate in the Farm to Fork Picnic there is a high-profile newcomer: Gabe Barker of Pizzeria Mercato in Carrboro.

Barker, a 2017 semifinalist for Rising Star Chef by the James Beard Foundation, knew about Farm to Fork since his parents, Ben and Karen Barker of the now-closed Magnolia Grill in Durham, were involved in that first gathering for Carlo Petrini. He will partner with Peregrine Farms, which provided produce and flowers to Magnolia Grill back when he was a toddler who napped in the kitchen.

“They were instrumental in my parents’ success, and now mine,” Barker says of Alex and Betsy Hitt, who started growing spigariello, a sweet and peppery Italian green, at his request. “It’s a challenge to cook within the bounds of seasonality, but it’s also exciting to work with food at its peak.”

Barker says he is deeply grateful to the farmers who labor to grow the sustainable produce he and his peers transform into meals appreciated by diners across the Triangle.

“The kind of food I do depends entirely on the ingredients,” he says. “I have an immense respect for everyone in the food system, from the growers to the immigrant workers who pick the celery. I feel obligated to support them, and I’m glad to do this.”

As successful as the festival has become, Reusing laments that the term “farm to fork” has become a cliche in recent years. A stunning 2016 series, “Farm to Fable,” in the Tampa Bay Times revealed how unscrupulous restaurateurs were claiming false relationships with farmers and knowingly mislabeling ingredients as local.

“I think what’s important to think about is that every time we make a choice to support a local farm, we’re doing something really powerful for our community,” Reusing says. “Everyone has the right to healthy local food. The real challenge now is to expand access beyond farmer’s markets and food coops to our entire community.

“Ideally,” she adds, “this won’t have to be a fundraiser one day and can just be a party. We shouldn’t have to raise money to support new farmers because there would be plenty of them, and everyone would support them throughout the year.”

McKnight says Chapel Hill Creamery is happy to support efforts to attract smart, capable people to hands-on farming, as opposed to more lucrative adjunct businesses.

“We need to support the people who want to take their smarts and use it to work the ground, work with the animals, and produce the food,” McKnight says. “This program helps people who actually want to run the farm achieve their goal. As someone who hopes to one day retire from farming, I’m glad to know there will be people ready to step up and carry on.”

Tickets for 10th anniversary Farm to Fork Picnic Weekend events are available online at www.farmtoforknc.com.

This post appeared in WRAL.com’s What’s on Tap on 5/9/2017.  Read the original version here.

By Jill Warren Lucas

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Supporters of this year’s 10th anniversary Farm to Fork Picnic will get one sweet deal when they sample Triangle-made sips and snacks derived from local honey, fruit and spices.

Just Bee Apiary and Honeygirl Meadery are return presenters at the 2017 Farm to Fork Picnic Weekend, which on June 2-4 will mark its 10th anniversary of celebrating the connections between sustainable farmers, chefs and culinary artisans.

Proceeds from the fundraiser benefit the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), which develops and promotes just and equitable food and farming systems that conserve natural resources, strengthen communities, improve health outcomes and provide economic opportunities in North Carolina and beyond, and the PLANT Farm Enterprise Incubator at the W.C. Breeze Family Farm in Hurdle Mills, which incubates new farmers and offers training on small scale sustainable farming techniques.

While the two businesses exemplify the Farm to Fork mission, they do so in different ways. Just Bee Apiary, located in Chapel Hill, is focused on growing its stock of hives to increase the beneficial impact of pollinators on nearby farms and home gardens.

Because of the volume needed annually – more than 6,000 pounds of wildflower honey alone – Durham’s Honeygirl Meadery sources its supply from both Sawmill Bee Farm of St. Pauls in Robeson County and an out-of-state provider.

The latter also supplies orange blossom honey, which can’t be sourced here since North Carolina lacks orange groves. Locally-grown herbs and fruit, like strawberries recently picked at McAdams Farm in Efland, are used to flavor the current line of eight meads.

Unlike beer and wine, mead is made from fermented honey. While some meads are sweet, owner Diane Currier prefer to ferment Honeygirl products to the dry side. She plans to sample the strawberry, set for May release, and others at the picnic.

“I’m driven by the drink-the-field idea of flavors, so Farm to Fork is something I love to do,” Currier says. “I care deeply about expressing the flavors of North Carolina. I bought our ginger this year from three different farms at the Durham Market so we could share the love. I know that, when I open the first bottle of strawberry mead from this year, it will take me right back to the middle of the strawberry patch.”

Currier calls some of her ingredients “hyper local.” The term is well earned since a loyal customer, who moved from Cary to California, insisted she transplant his productive fig tree to her back yard. She also likes to experiment with non-local ingredients, however, and is currently working on a tropical, spicy-sweet combination of habanero pepper and mango.

If successful, it won’t be available for sale until 2018, but customers might get a sip at Honeygirl’s birthday party in late October.

Just Bee Apiary has found a way to incorporate a shot of boozy flavor in its alcohol-free whiskey honey. It’s a collaboration with TOPO Organic Spirits, which allowed Just Bee owner Marty Hanks to establish a rooftop apiary for his Hometown Honey Collection.

Hanks obtained a few of the barrels used to age Eight Oak Carolina Whiskey and draws flavors imbued in the wood. He’ll use this to sweeten homemade ice cream that will be sampled at the Farm to Fork Picnic.

Hanks’ primary focus this season is on rebuilding hive stock for the Hometown Honey Collection. These “micro-local” honeys are derived from apiaries set in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Pittsboro, Saxapahaw and Hillsborough. They get their unique flavor from flora located within the bees’ three to five mile foraging range.

Hanks currently is out of stock of these Hometown varieties, but they should be resupplied later this season when hives become productive. He prefers to check his hives infrequently to minimize disruptions, which can cause stress and spread disease.

“Bees are an extremely intelligent species, and you have to treat them with respect,” he says. “Unlike a lot of farms, which move hives around for pollination, we keep ours in one spot to breed out and thrive in the same microclimate. For consumers, it creates an identity. It’s natural to want to help protect bees that live in the same place you do.”

Hanks appreciates the efforts of Farm to Fork to forge relationships between consumers and artisan producers like himself.

“They’re showing the broader spectrum of what it means to be a farmer today, living with the land,” he says, recalling that his parents used a lot of chemical products on their tobacco farm. “The fact is, that kind of farming doesn’t sustain us. We need to have more respect for what gives us life, and I’m glad to stand with others who see it this way, too.”

WRAL is a sponsor of the 10th anniversary Farm to Fork Picnic Weekend, which will be held June 2-4 in Raleigh and Fearrington Village. Order tickets at www.farmtoforknc.com.

This post appeared in WRAL.com’s What’s on Tap on 5/2/2017.  Read the original version here.

By Jill Warren Lucas

RALEIGH, N.C. — Cheetie Kumar is truly going the distance this year to demonstrate her commitment to Farm to Fork’s decade-long mission of promoting the relationships between sustainable farmers, chefs and culinary artisans.

The chef at Garland restaurant will cook for the June 2 Sustainable Supper at Raleigh’s Market Hall, fly south to participate in the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, then zip back in time to greet patrons on June 4 at the 10th anniversary Farm to Fork Picnic at Fearrington Village.

“I’m glad to do it,” says Kumar, who was named a semifinalist for 2017 Best Chef Southeast honors by the James Beard Foundation. “I believe in cooking seasonally, and it’s important to recognize the hard work of local farmers who make that possible.”

“The recipes at Garland rely on a lot of different components, and it takes a lot of sources to make that happen,” she adds. “To me, it doesn’t make sense to cook any other way, especially with so much abundance here.”

Kumar routinely works with more than a dozen Triangle farmers to supply fresh fruit and vegetables as well as proteins for the eclectic Indian and Pan-Asian menu at Garland. The list continually grows as she connects with farmers who grow specialty crops that inspire her creativity.

She also appreciates the fact that proceeds from the fundraiser benefit the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), which develops and promotes just and equitable food and farming systems that conserve natural resources, strengthen communities, improve health outcomes, and provide economic opportunities in North Carolina and beyond, and the PLANT Farm Enterprise Incubator at the W.C. Breeze Family Farm in Hurdle Mills, which incubates new farmers and offers training on small scale sustainable farming techniques.

“It helps farmers understand how chefs work and the challenges they have, as far as sourcing and storage and the cycles of service,” Kumar says. “And it helps us as chefs to know more about the challenges farmers face and not be so rigid. Sometimes there’s a frost in March, like this year, and things you thought were on the horizon took another month. We can be more supportive of each other’s issues when we understand them better.”

Kumar helped to represent local talent and ingredients during a late April promotional trip to New York City sponsored by visitRaleigh. She planned to finalize her Farm to Fork menu when she returned. For the picnic, she will be paired with Raleigh’s Sweet Peas Urban Gardens, which focuses on microgreens, and Granite Springs Farm of Pittsboro, which grows vegetables without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers.

“For the picnic, I’m pretty sure we’re going to do a cold braised beet dish with chaat elements to it – something crunchy, some chutney, a lot of herbs and yogurt,” she says. “As for the Friday dinner, it all depends on the farmer. I’ll wait awhile to see what’s best at the time and make something that will show it off.”

WRAL is a sponsor of the 10th anniversary Farm to Fork Picnic Weekend, which will be held June 2-4 in Raleigh and Fearrington Village. Order tickets at www.farmtoforknc.com.

Photo Credit: Stacey Sprenz Photography

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 31, 2015

RALEIGH, NC: Farm to Fork announced today its expansion from a single event, the Farm to Fork Picnic, into a three-day weekend of events that will take place  June 5 – 7, 2015. The first two events, scheduled for June 5 and 6, will feature James Beard winner and The New York Times best-selling author Paul Greenberg. Sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the weekend proceeds will benefit training programs at the Center for Environmental Systems (CEFS) and the W.C. Breeze Family Farm Extension and Research Center.

“There is an enormous need for new farmers in our country. Our state alone has lost more than 40,000 farms over the last four decades, and it’s not a trend we can afford to ignore,” says Nancy Creamer, professor of sustainable agriculture and community based food systems at North Carolina State University and director of CEFS. “In addition to raising more needed funds, we expanded the event to increase public education and engagement on food systems issues that are important to our communities. We invited Paul because he is an amazing advocate and his efforts to draw attention to issues in the fishing industry have paralleled our effort with CEFS in the farming industry.”

The weekend will kick off with a dinner at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens on Friday, June 5, featuring five acclaimed North Carolina chefs, including Vivian Howard of Chef and the Farmer in Kinston and the Peabody Award-winning PBS series A Chef’s Life, Chris Coleman of The Asbury in Charlotte, Amy Tornquist from Watts Grocery and Hummingbird Bakery in Durham, and two additional chefs who will be announced in the coming weeks on the website. Greenberg will be the guest of honor at the dinner and speak briefly about the purpose and importance of addressing overfishing and sourcing from our local shores.

On Saturday, June 6, Greenberg will speak at The Rickhouse, in Durham, about the state of the fishing industry, better use of our national resources, and the importance of protecting our waterways, from New York’s rivers to Alaska’s Bristol Bay. After Greenberg speaks, there will be a dynamic panel of half a dozen North Carolina fishing industry experts who will discuss “how we might regain American local seafood.” Following the panel, Greenberg will sign books and there will be a sustainable fish and clam bake prepared by two chefs known for their commitment to local seafood, Ricky Moore of Saltbox Seafood and James Clark of The Carolina Inn.

The weekend wraps up on Sunday, June 7, with the highly acclaimed Farm to Fork Picnic at Breeze Farm in Hurdle Mills, NC. Since its inception in 2007, the Farm to Fork Picnic has been one of the most anticipated local events and has sold out annually. With more than two dozen restaurants and farms paired together and another two dozen food artisans featured, the Picnic offers an amazing array of local food. In addition, half a dozen craft brewers, wine distributors and coffee producers offer beverages for attendees. The annually sold out event which has been named “The Country’s Best All-You-Can-Eat Feast “ by Bon Appetit, celebrates the integral relationship between local culinary talent and their favorite farmers.

All proceeds from the three weekend events will provide funding for education and new farmer training programs at the Breeze Farm in Hurdle Mills and the CEFS farm in Goldsboro, NC. Last year, the Picnic alone provided more than $35,000 that was split between the two farms.

Tickets will be available at the Farm to Fork website (http://www.farmtoforknc.com/) on Wednesday, April 1. Friday dinner tickets are $165 and include a copy of Greenberg’s American Catch paperback; the tickets to the Saturday evening discussion and meal are $35 without a copy of Greenberg’s book and $45 including the paperback; tickets for the Sunday Picnic are $100 for adults, $50 for ages 13 – 20, and free for children 12 and under; and a discount ticket for all three events is $275 per person. Greenberg’s book will be available for purchase both Friday and Saturday evenings, onsite at each event, through the Farm to Fork book sponsor, Flyleaf Books.

Paul Greenberg is the author of the critically acclaimed and The New York Times best-selling book Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild.  Four Fish won the James Beard Award in 2011 and was the basis for a Time Magazine cover story. His latest book, American Catch, further explores the current state of the American seafood supply and will be released in paperback on June 9, 2015. For additional information, please visit paulgreenberg.org/

The Breeze Farm was donated to NC State University by Colonel Bell Breeze and his family to support sustainable farming systems programming. It conducts an 8-week new farmer training workshop series in January and February and leases land to aspiring farmers and livestock producers. For more information see http://www.orangecountfarms.org/PLANTatBreeze.asp.

Collards in the Cafeteria follows the journey of this nutrient-rich leafy green from the fields to the county’s Central Kitchen, where they are cooked and processed in a Wonka-like fashion for cafeteria service the following day. Frank Fields, Director of School Nutrition, shares the secret of the final step; getting students to try and, perhaps, even love this classic Southern side dish.

The first in a series of short profiles created by Vittles Films for the NC 10% Campaign, Collards in the Cafeteria was funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation to spotlight the local food heroes who are making farm to fork a reality.

“We want folks to watch these films and be inspired by seeing how others are making ‘farm to fork’ work, and feel motivated to take action whether it be through demanding local foods, connecting growers and buyers, or financially supporting local foods infrastructure,” says Robyn Stout, NC 10% Campaign Statewide Coordinator.

Visit the NC 10% Campaign’s website to watch Collards in the Cafeteria!

From the December 2014 E-Newsletter

CEFS is expanding the Farm to Fork picnic to a whole weekend full of local food events in 2015!

Mark your calendars for June 5 – 7 and plan to attend at least one of the three scheduled events, organized to raise funds for new farmer training programs.

The weekend will kick off on Friday evening with a fantastic dinner at Duke Gardens, featuring amazing chefs from across the state. In addition to the Sunday Farm to Fork picnic, we will combine our annual Sustainable Agriculture Lecture with a food truck rodeo that Saturday evening, June 6.

Check the CEFS website for more information!

From the December 2014 E-Newsletter