Grace Tang ‘21
Foreign Correspondent
My first farm to table experience was at a restaurant called Borealis in Kitchener, Ontario. The restaurant prided itself on being “Obsessively Local,” sourcing its ingredients from local farms and producers in the area. I was skeptical about the quality of the food at first. Wouldn’t the restaurant’s ingredients be limited? The restaurant couldn’t serve exotic ingredients, and sourcing from local farms must take more effort . . . I didn’t have high hopes. However, after my first bite of their twenty-eight-day-aged steak paired with delicious local vegetables, I was a believer. I loved how the restaurant changed its menu to adapt to the seasons and highlighted ingredients that were in season. During the fall, the menu featured squash, pumpkin, and root vegetables. In the spring, there was fresh fish, rhubarb, and asparagus. Going for a meal at Borealis was always a treat. Sourcing ingredients locally wasn’t a handicap for the restaurant; in fact, it made the food that much fresher and more delicious.
Despite supporting Borealis and the restaurant’s values of sustainability, I never imagined that I could do the same thing at home. I always imagined farm to table cooking to be exorbitantly expensive and difficult. In my mind, I pictured $10 per bunch spinach and $50/oz steak. I assumed that only the ultra-wealthy and privileged could enjoy farm to table cooking.
Things all started to change this summer. Through a series of interesting events, I began looking into shopping for meat in local farms. It turns out that a litigation partner at my law firm this past summer owns Broad Arrow, a farm market and butcher in Maine with her husband. They supply high quality, pasture-raised meat to all of the nice restaurants in the area. I looked into their website and was surprised to see how affordable their products were.
This fall, after the school announced the Farm Share program, I started thinking about buying and cooking locally again. When I lived in San Francisco last summer, I loved going to the farmer’s market at the Civic Center every week. Local farmers would sell fresh produce at excellent prices. I started looking into similar options in Charlottesville and found a treasure trove of local options.
This week, I managed to snatch a last-minute Farm Share slot. The Farm Shares are from Bellair Farms, located only fifteen miles from the Law School. To celebrate the amazing victory and free food, I devised a local food challenge for myself. I would have to create a full meal made from 100 percent locally sourced ingredients from around the Charlottesville area.
Remembering Broad Arrow, I decided to look around the Charlottesville area for a local butcher and found Free Union Grass Farm. The farm is so named because grass is the only thing that the animals eat on the property. Free Union Grass is only a twenty-minute drive from the Law School and offers a variety of meats, including grass-fed beef, forest-fed pork, pasteurized chicken and duck, and even goose on special occasions.
The drive up to the farm was absolutely lovely; blue skies and green hills flashed by with glimpses of golden trees and black fences. When we arrived at Free Union Grass Farm, a curious Australian Shepherd bounded up to us, wagging his tail. After purchasing a mountain of ingredients, including the very last pack of beef short ribs, we learned that the good boy’s name is Gus, short for Gustavo.
Finally came the preparation of my locally sourced meal. The Farm Share I picked up from the Law School came with a variety of sweet peppers, salad greens, radishes, and carrots. For the farm to table meal, I decided to use some of the heritage pork chops and pair it with the fresh vegetables from Bellair Farms. I prepared the pork chops simply—salt, pepper, and then seared in a hot cast iron pan until cooked. The pork chops were about an inch thick, and I seared them for just over a minute on both sides. For the salad, I shaved slices of radish, carrots, and peppers on top of a bed of salad greens and topped off with some extra virgin olive oil, black sesame seeds, and balsamic vinegar. Et voila! Dinner was served.
Pictured: Yes, your mouth is now watering. Shop local and make wonderful meals like this! Photo Courtesy of Grace Tang '21.
The meal was super delicious and fresh. The vegetables were newly in season, and the pork chops were tender and juicy. What’s more, I felt a great sense of satisfaction when enjoying the meal, knowing that each bite was grown and raised within thirty minutes of where I lived by car. Plates were cleared in no time.
Overall, I was thrilled by my success in creating a farm to table meal consisting of only local main ingredients. Of course, some of the condiments like salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and sesame seeds were not sourced locally, but the key ingredients were all from the Charlottesville area. The quest for a local meal really changed my perception of farm to table food and eating locally. It made me realize that purchasing ingredients from local farms is much easier and cheaper than I previously imagined. The whole experience was fun and rewarding. I challenge fellow law students to create their own farm to table meals!
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