CORNUCOPIA
A focus on organic goods makes Western food appeal abroad
Suthon Sukphisit visits a Rhode Island restaurant to discover what the phrase “farm to table” really means.
The popularity of Western cuisine is growing in Thailand, one of the most likely reasons behind this being the initiative taken by embassies and chambers of commerce to show off their specialities abroad. These organisations host food festivals where they invite famous chefs to introduce their countries’ most celebrated dishes and food products to Thais.
Bangkok is on its way to becoming a trendy hub for international chefs. One of the signs is the growing number of renowned international cooking schools that have opened recently. More Thai cooking schools have also opened up, and the booming culinary scene here has enticed Thai chefs working overseas to return home and open a restaurant or work for a major hotel.
The most extravagant culinary showcases are like meals offered at five-star hotels. The cost may be pricey, but the experience is well worth it. Well-to-do hi-so families can hire respected chefs as their own private caterers, but several fancy restaurants also offer multi-course meals that are available via reservation. Their finely selected ingredients are all specially imported for the meal.
Cornucopia would like to take readers to Farm to Table, a chef-table dinner experience at the Blackbird Farm restaurant in Smithfield, Rhode Island, which yours truly attended early last month.
The event was jointly hosted by David Dadekian of Eat Drink RI company — an organisation devoted to providing information on local cuisine in Rhode Island — owner of Blackbird Farm restaurant Ann-Marie Bouthillette, and chefs Eli Dunn of Eli Kitchen and Jordan Goldsmith of Moonrose Farm.
The restaurant is located in a pasture populated by Angus cows. The meal is served under large trees on long tables. Vegetables and fruits come fresh from Moonrose Farm. Everything on the menu looks impressive and delicious, from the shoyu-glazed pork to the bomster scallop crudo, wood-grilled oysters and blackbird London broil.
The following is a chat we had with some of the key organisers of the event.
Suthon: What do David and Eat Drink RI hope to gain from the dinners?
Beth: The goal is to promote awareness in the general public about the farms and locals who grow great products.
David: Sure, that’s a good answer. The bottom line is also to get more customers involved in Eat Drink RI’s business of producing events and the farm’s business of selling meat.
Suthon: Is the food all local to Rhode Island? Beth: Mostly. However, some items like the scallops and the Jonathan Edwards wines are from Connecticut.
David: At this time of year we’re fortunate to be able to produce most things in southern New England. There are always going to be some ingredients that can’t be grown or produced here, but Jordan and Eli tried to procure as much as they could locally and primarily from RI sources. As you may have heard, this even included grinding the farm’s corn into flour for the beignets. But the sugar on them, for example, can’t be produced in New England.
Suthon: Is the food organic? Is the goal to highlight only organic products?
David: No. There were some organic ingredients, but that’s not our focus. Our focus is on local products first, grown on small farms in Rhode Island. Some of it is organic and some of it is raised with organic practices but aren’t certified.
Suthon: Who are the people who attend the dinners? How do they find out about the dinners?
Beth: A lot of it is word of mouth and people who already patronise the Providence restaurant scene. They attend out of interest and curiosity to see where their food actually originates from. Sometimes they find promotional materials posted at local restaurants. Restaurant staff also share recommendations through word of mouth.
David: We have an extensive email newsletter list and following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We also send out releases to local media companies, place posters around the state, ask the chefs to share the information and advertise primarily on Facebook. Many of the diners are attendees from previous Eat Drink RI events.
Suthon: Are there many organisations like this in Rhode Island? Are there any other organisations producing these types of dinners in the area?
Beth: There are many food and drink organisations in Rhode Island. We’re one of the few for-profit food event production focused groups, though there are many non-profits which do similar events as fundraisers and we produce some of those for the non-profits as well. Many farms are trying to do events like this on their own to expand farm use and attract more customers.
Suthon: Is it more expensive to grow produce organically? If so, how do the price increases affect the consumer?
Beth: Yes, local production, organic or not, is more expensive. It’s not so much the cost of raising the food that’s more expensive — it’s all the surrounding infrastructure it takes to produce in a small, non-agriculture dependent state. The cost of farmland is exponentially higher in RI than say Iowa, since there is so much less of it and higher demand for housing. For the most part, consumers who want better quality and local food accept the slight premium, and at certain times of the year, like from now through the fall, there is an abundance here that keeps prices more average.
Suthon: Is there a chance that the slow-cooking or slow food movement will be popular again here in the US?
Beth: Yes, it already is. There is more awareness now than 30 years ago, more appreciation for where your food comes from and what goes into your food. It’s certainly become popular now. There’s definitely an increase in that style of thinking and food purchasing over the last 10 years with no end of it in sight. For better or for worse, the expansion of a company like Amazon in taking over Whole Foods Market shows growth. The direct-toconsumer market has certainly shifted in the direction of slow food. The next big hurdle is seeing large institutions move toward local purchasing while not hindering small farms from being financially sustainable. This outdoors food function is quite interesting. I think it works well in a Bangkok scenario. It’s a perfect collaboration between farmers and chefs.