Don’t cash in, buy in

Farm to table, foraged, market vegetables, locally harvested, wild cultivated. I’m sure you’ve dined at a restaurant and read these descriptors on a dinner menu. Your first thought was probably either “oh, it’s great they support local” or “that’s some pretentious crap.”

The restaurant industry is embracing locally-grown food like never before which is great both for the customers and the community. Unfortunately with the change in trend comes restaurants hoping to cash in by using it as a marketing tool.

I am a huge supporter of the P.G. Farmers’ Market. I go every Saturday morning with my son because I want to build that tradition with him. I want him to know that we buy local products not because it is “cool” or the popular thing at the moment.

We do it because community members support each other, and our community produces high-quality ingredients that I am proud to put on the menu.

Too often is the case where restaurants claim to feature local products and sneak in large distributors’ items through the back door. Look, I get it. If you can source a cheaper product and sell it at the prices associated with local food, your endprofit margins are great, right?

But morally we must be truthful to the customer, and professionally we need to be dedicated to our craft and passionate enough to want to cook with the best.

So please, if you’re selling your product as local, just walk to the farmers’ market and get that item.

You’ll meet great people who deserve to see the benefits for all the hard work they put in and your customers will truly taste the difference.