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What's the Future of Locavores and Locapours?
 I am guessing that there are relatively few out there in the industry who have not heard the term locavore, maybe even the related term for drinking what is produced locally, locapour. Over the past few years, the locavore movement has garnered more and more interest. The New Oxford American Dictionary even made the term their word of the year in 2007. Many people are discovering that eating locally has numerous benefits: food is more nutritious, tastes better, and fuel conservation is promoted by avoiding foods that has been trucked hundreds (or even thousands) of miles. Many restaurants are joining the movement, forming relationships with their local farming community, shopping their local Farmer's Market, some even growing their own produce. The movement is also spilling over onto wine lists as well, with restaurants featuring locally produced wines. Some examples include: Local restauranteur Sondra Bernstein has created "The Farm Project," a biodynamic farm, which consists of small plots of land behind two of her Sonoma, CA restaurants, the girl & the fig and ESTATE, and even has a share cropper agreement with close-by Glen Ellen winery, Imagery Estate. Sondra and her team are trying to be true to what they believe in by using organic, local and sustainable produce. (See blog post it by Megan Conniff here) Local Culinary Program, Relish Culinary Adventures has teamed up with award-winning Grape Leaf Inn to offer the Sonoma Locavore Experience" a three-day tour packagethat features visits to organic and biodynamic vineyards, family farms, local restaurants and other area businesses that are dedicated to sustainability.  And don't think you need to be on the farm to grow produce! Seattle restaurant Bastille installed a 4,500 square foot garden of raised-bed planter boxes on their roof to grow their own lettuces and herbs.Regarding the Locapour movement, last year the San Francisco Chronicle reported that local vintners were voicing complaints against locavore restaurants that glorified local food, but stocked their lists with imported wines. Washingtonian magazine food critic Todd Kliman took the argument national with his post on TheDailyBeast.com "The Locavore Wine Hypocrisy." The National Restaurant Association even announced last January that the #1 trend in alcoholic beverages is “locally produced wine and beer,” and be sure to check out the"Drink Local Wine" blog. Since being coined in 2005, the locavore trend just seems to be growing bigger each year, with apparently no end in sight. Have you seen any cool or cutting edge locavore-related ideas being implemented? Let me know! -Margie 
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6 comments
I love this topic. Did you know that if you actually get in a car and drive 2 miles to the Farmer's Market all that energy you are trying to save by buying locally produced product is wasted because the wasted petroleum it cost you to purchase the locally grown product is much greater than the carbon footprint imported fruits and veggies cost for transportation in containers over the ocean? (It is all a matter of cost per pound of course.) I always say, grow your own, bike or walk but don't drive or you have just become an oxymoron!
Thanks for listening,
Tim Gallant
Creekview Vineyards
San Martin, CA
Thanks for listening,
Tim Gallant
Creekview Vineyards
San Martin, CA
11/18/10 @ 20:38
The idea that a local restaurant is serving local food but because they are serving imported wine, then they are hypoctrites is just dumb. The restaurant is in the FOOD business and is not a wine bar. The food in that restaurant may lend itself to an international style wine list. If it were advertised as a locopour wine bar then, that would be hypocritical. There are several placed in Atlanta the used locally grown produce and a couple that do grow some of what they use, to pair up those menus with Georgia wine would be abysmal.
11/18/10 @ 23:14
We buy local every chance we get. We have done crop planning with the local organic community for quite a while, then I started raising all of my own Micro-Greens in house about a year ago. We keep 6-8 varieties going year round and change them up as the menu changes. Here’s a shot of one of the grow racks.
ChefBear
The Marcus Whitman Hotel
http://www.marcuswhitmanhotel.com
Bear Ullman, Executive Chef
Follow up response:
It’s a matter of finding the right individual within the organization, training them up and giving them the tools they need then letting them go with it. I have AD/HD so I love building and creating and problem solving, but as soon as the process is nailed down I start getting distracted. I usually get 3-4 people involved in a project like that and then someone will generally standout as the new best owner of it. In this case it was my Purchaser Juan Faba. Juan is a very loving nurturing family guy and it was a great fit, as purchaser he attends BEO meetings and kitchen meetings so he’s aware of upcoming events and usage and such. It works really well.
Juan probably has ½ an hour a day maintenance and maybe 1-2 hours on big planting days. Cost wise we were paying $15-18 dollars a tray when I had a local organic farmer doing it for me and I thought that was cheap, we started doing it in house because of consistency and dependability issues. Now are cost for materials is about $2-3 depending on what it is. I currently have Pea shoots, Red Radish, Mustard greens, Curly Cress, Genovese Basil, Cilantro, and Arugula. It’s a great resource to have available.
And are you a fan?
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walla-Walla-WA/The-Chefs-Table-at-The-Marc-Restaurant/207632267703
Nate and I go on field trips and post it up on the FaceBook page. We usually try to go visit a purveyor and or a local winery and do a quirky write up.
ChefBear
ChefBear
The Marcus Whitman Hotel
http://www.marcuswhitmanhotel.com
Bear Ullman, Executive Chef
Follow up response:
It’s a matter of finding the right individual within the organization, training them up and giving them the tools they need then letting them go with it. I have AD/HD so I love building and creating and problem solving, but as soon as the process is nailed down I start getting distracted. I usually get 3-4 people involved in a project like that and then someone will generally standout as the new best owner of it. In this case it was my Purchaser Juan Faba. Juan is a very loving nurturing family guy and it was a great fit, as purchaser he attends BEO meetings and kitchen meetings so he’s aware of upcoming events and usage and such. It works really well.
Juan probably has ½ an hour a day maintenance and maybe 1-2 hours on big planting days. Cost wise we were paying $15-18 dollars a tray when I had a local organic farmer doing it for me and I thought that was cheap, we started doing it in house because of consistency and dependability issues. Now are cost for materials is about $2-3 depending on what it is. I currently have Pea shoots, Red Radish, Mustard greens, Curly Cress, Genovese Basil, Cilantro, and Arugula. It’s a great resource to have available.
And are you a fan?
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walla-Walla-WA/The-Chefs-Table-at-The-Marc-Restaurant/207632267703
Nate and I go on field trips and post it up on the FaceBook page. We usually try to go visit a purveyor and or a local winery and do a quirky write up.
ChefBear
11/18/10 @ 23:20
Comment from: Jim Matorin [Visitor]
Margie:
Familier with both. I just live on the wrong coast right now. Enjoy the movements.
Familier with both. I just live on the wrong coast right now. Enjoy the movements.
11/19/10 @ 08:33
Not sure how cutting edge this is, but one of the pleasures of eating at the Lodge at Sonoma is seeing what is growing in the garden. Herbs, tomatoes, vegetables, and they all find their way into the food served there.
Kathy Downs
Fox Fabrique
Kathy Downs
Fox Fabrique
11/19/10 @ 12:07
Oh man, this article is hysterical, yet sad and true all too often.
Christian Winton
Christian Winton
11/21/10 @ 22:18
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