In the five years since DC’s restaurant Nora became America’s first certified organic restaurant, a growing cadre of ecologically conscious area chefs has followed chef Nora Pouillon’s example – not necessarily going fully organic, but paying increasingly close attention to the sources of the meat, fish and produce on their menus. Their eyes are on smaller producers that pride themselves on top quality.
Rob Klink, executive chef at the Oceanaire Seafood Room, said he will not cook with species that are endangered, overfished or otherwise poorly managed.
“Everything I have in D.C. is sustainable or at least highly regulated,” he said.
For Klink, while environmental concerns certainly play a part, it’s also a matter of good business. “You don’t want to deplete a source,” he said.
And, of course, there’s always the matter of taste. Sea bass, of the type that’s served on countless American menus, is a “generic, bland-tasting fish,” in Klink’s opinion.
He’s taken to substituting Alaskan sablefish, also known as black cod, where he would normally use sea bass. Apart from being managed in a sustainable fashion, as opposed to the overfished sea bass, it has more “richness” and flavor, he said.
All the chefs The Hill spoke with cited better taste as one of their main motivators for seeking out better sources, especially when it comes to livestock. “The sad thing is people don’t know anymore” what naturally raised product tastes like, said Robert Weland, executive chef at Poste. “Things do taste better when they’re the way they’re supposed to be.”
Weland has been flying in wild salmon and farm-raised halibut from Alaska, using free-range chickens from Amish country and moving toward grass-fed beef. Next year, he’ll be planting an organic herb garden in the courtyard adjoining the restaurant.
For Ellen Gray, general manager of Equinox, ecological and humane concerns are a way of life. A former wholesaler of meat and game, she has been a vegetarian for 11 years, as well as a fierce opponent of industrialized agriculture. So it was an easy sell when she and her husband, executive chef Todd Gray, were approached by Humane Farm Animal Care, a Herndon, Va.-based nonprofit organization founded by former American Humane Association lobbyist and Hill staffer Adele Douglass.
Last year, Humane Farm Animal Care began recruiting experts to evaluate farms and slaughterhouses on a variety of criteria, including hormone- and antibiotic-free diets, space to exercise and “gentle handling” at slaughter. Those producers meeting the organization’s standards are awarded the “certified humane” designation.
Earlier this year, Equinox became Washington’s first restaurant to serve certified humane meat.
As it turned out, becoming certified was a small leap for many of Equinox’s existing suppliers as well. “I am always scouring the area for the most pristine products and as it turns out, pretty much all of these animals are being treated humanely – that is what makes [the products] so superior,” Todd Gray said.
Earlier this year, the Grays hosted several other local top chefs for a tasting of certified-humane products. No other restaurants have committed as of yet, but Holly Bridges, director of outreach for Humane Farm Animal Care, said she expects an “explosion after the first of the year.”
Such a change would be emblematic of what many experts see as a coming wave of interest in these issues by chefs and the public alike.
Carole Baldwin, a scientist at the Smithsonian and author of One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish: The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook, said, “Response to the book was overwhelming. I look at it as an encouraging sign of chefs wanting to get on this bandwagon.”
Heidi Hanson, a Falls Church, Va., resident and producer of “Chefs A’Field” on PBS, which brings chefs out to the source of their food, said “chefs are barraging us with questions,” asking to be connected with the small farmers and other producers featured on the show.
The program seems to have hit upon a related trend among chefs that has them itching to visit the farms and fishermen who produce what ultimately ends up on the plate.
At the end of June, Klink spent a week in Alaska at a fishing co-op in the Aleutian Islands, observing how fishermen catch their sockeye salmon. The fishermen drop nets to catch the fish, which are then vacuumed up through a hose into a holding tank on board, where they are held live until they reach shore. “The longer they’re alive, the better they are,” the chef said.
Of course, the great barrier keeping chefs and the public from increasing their appetites for ecologically friendly product is cost.
“It’s something I hold in high regard, and I want to make it affordable,” said Weland. But “these things do cost more.”
But at least as far as humanely raised livestock is concerned, Bridges said she expects prices to come down as more producers join the program.
Above all, “People who want a quality product are happy to pay for a quality product,” she said.
Of course, the great barrier keeping chefs and the public from increasing their appetites for ecologically friendly product is cost.
“It’s something I hold in high regard, and I want to make it affordable,” said Weland. But “these things do cost more.”
But at least as far as humanely raised livestock is concerned, Bridges said she expects prices to come down as more producers join the program.
Above all, “People who want a quality product are happy to pay for a quality product,” she said.
The Hill Chefs : Paying More Attention to Sources
Posted: December 8, 2004 by Certified Humane
In the five years since DC’s restaurant Nora became America’s first certified organic restaurant, a growing cadre of ecologically conscious area chefs has followed chef Nora Pouillon’s example – not necessarily going fully organic, but paying increasingly close attention to the sources of the meat, fish and produce on their menus. Their eyes are on smaller producers that pride themselves on top quality.
Rob Klink, executive chef at the Oceanaire Seafood Room, said he will not cook with species that are endangered, overfished or otherwise poorly managed.
“Everything I have in D.C. is sustainable or at least highly regulated,” he said.
For Klink, while environmental concerns certainly play a part, it’s also a matter of good business. “You don’t want to deplete a source,” he said.
And, of course, there’s always the matter of taste. Sea bass, of the type that’s served on countless American menus, is a “generic, bland-tasting fish,” in Klink’s opinion.
He’s taken to substituting Alaskan sablefish, also known as black cod, where he would normally use sea bass. Apart from being managed in a sustainable fashion, as opposed to the overfished sea bass, it has more “richness” and flavor, he said.
All the chefs The Hill spoke with cited better taste as one of their main motivators for seeking out better sources, especially when it comes to livestock. “The sad thing is people don’t know anymore” what naturally raised product tastes like, said Robert Weland, executive chef at Poste. “Things do taste better when they’re the way they’re supposed to be.”
Weland has been flying in wild salmon and farm-raised halibut from Alaska, using free-range chickens from Amish country and moving toward grass-fed beef. Next year, he’ll be planting an organic herb garden in the courtyard adjoining the restaurant.
For Ellen Gray, general manager of Equinox, ecological and humane concerns are a way of life. A former wholesaler of meat and game, she has been a vegetarian for 11 years, as well as a fierce opponent of industrialized agriculture. So it was an easy sell when she and her husband, executive chef Todd Gray, were approached by Humane Farm Animal Care, a Herndon, Va.-based nonprofit organization founded by former American Humane Association lobbyist and Hill staffer Adele Douglass.
Last year, Humane Farm Animal Care began recruiting experts to evaluate farms and slaughterhouses on a variety of criteria, including hormone- and antibiotic-free diets, space to exercise and “gentle handling” at slaughter. Those producers meeting the organization’s standards are awarded the “certified humane” designation.
Earlier this year, Equinox became Washington’s first restaurant to serve certified humane meat.
As it turned out, becoming certified was a small leap for many of Equinox’s existing suppliers as well. “I am always scouring the area for the most pristine products and as it turns out, pretty much all of these animals are being treated humanely – that is what makes [the products] so superior,” Todd Gray said.
Earlier this year, the Grays hosted several other local top chefs for a tasting of certified-humane products. No other restaurants have committed as of yet, but Holly Bridges, director of outreach for Humane Farm Animal Care, said she expects an “explosion after the first of the year.”
Such a change would be emblematic of what many experts see as a coming wave of interest in these issues by chefs and the public alike.
Carole Baldwin, a scientist at the Smithsonian and author of One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish: The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook, said, “Response to the book was overwhelming. I look at it as an encouraging sign of chefs wanting to get on this bandwagon.”
Heidi Hanson, a Falls Church, Va., resident and producer of “Chefs A’Field” on PBS, which brings chefs out to the source of their food, said “chefs are barraging us with questions,” asking to be connected with the small farmers and other producers featured on the show.
The program seems to have hit upon a related trend among chefs that has them itching to visit the farms and fishermen who produce what ultimately ends up on the plate.
At the end of June, Klink spent a week in Alaska at a fishing co-op in the Aleutian Islands, observing how fishermen catch their sockeye salmon. The fishermen drop nets to catch the fish, which are then vacuumed up through a hose into a holding tank on board, where they are held live until they reach shore. “The longer they’re alive, the better they are,” the chef said.
Of course, the great barrier keeping chefs and the public from increasing their appetites for ecologically friendly product is cost.
“It’s something I hold in high regard, and I want to make it affordable,” said Weland. But “these things do cost more.”
But at least as far as humanely raised livestock is concerned, Bridges said she expects prices to come down as more producers join the program.
Above all, “People who want a quality product are happy to pay for a quality product,” she said.
Of course, the great barrier keeping chefs and the public from increasing their appetites for ecologically friendly product is cost.
“It’s something I hold in high regard, and I want to make it affordable,” said Weland. But “these things do cost more.”
But at least as far as humanely raised livestock is concerned, Bridges said she expects prices to come down as more producers join the program.
Above all, “People who want a quality product are happy to pay for a quality product,” she said.
Category: news