Keeping up with the Joneses - Industry Spotlight - The Chef's Garden specialty farm

Art Culinaire, Spring, 2002

At one time Huron, Ohio, was a fertile farming community, home to over 300 growers. Today there are six. Having lived in the valley through at lea least four generations, the Jones family understands well the trials of working the land. They know that economies can be fickle, nature can be cruel, and luck visits with good and bad at hand. Their history is defined by perseverance and an appreciation for what the good earth gives. Across the seventy acres they call home, a Willy Wonka variety of orchard fruits and specialty vegetables defines The Chef's Garden. It is as important that the product go directly from garden to chef as it is that the chef go directly from garden to kitchen. Perhaps no more astounding than the farm itself, but equally impressive, is the hospitality with which visitors are welcomed. It is the Joneses' mission to guide chefs who search for new ideas on a moveable feast across the fields. As they pop Golden Nugget and Sweet 100 tomatoes into their mouths like gumballs, sinking their fac es into pastel wedges of Charantais melon and emerging with wet and sugary grins, menus emerge. All this occurs before they've had a chance to explore the experimental garden, where pleasures of the past are revived. Among the many heirloom varieties that are raised, six phases of maturation are observed: micro, cotyledon (newly sprouted and split), petite, ultra, baby, and young. In a small greenhouse, devoid of light, fair-headed corn shoots and pea shoots relevee in the dark. They search for light, though none can be found. Much like the farm itself, the growing process is methodical.

In the middle of these green acres, a modest cluster of white greenhouses make up the nucleus of daily activity. Here micro greens, herbs, lettuce blossom, and a kaleidoscope of produce are prepped and orders packed. At the heart of it all is an unassuming outpost, strictly prohibited to anyone but Bob Sr. himself. The desk and shelves (I'm told) are loaded with a collection of old cameras, seed catalogues, scraps of paper scribbled with ideas, and books--lots of books. Among his library are almanacs and registers dating back to the 1800s, including Peter Henderson's 1887, Gardening for Profit, a series of sage advice penned over 100 years ago. There is also a growing collection of modern management annals. The Chef's Garden is a unique combination of century old agricultural practices and modern day management ideals. The Joneses share more than just the land they work; they share a common goal, a single philosophy that resonates in restaurants across America.

Q: How did the concept of The Chef's Garden come to be?

A: Years ago when the boys were young, we'd harvest the crops in the early morning, pack everything onto the truck, and be on the road by 2 a.m. for the hour or so drive to the Cleveland market. One day, Iris Bailin, who was the Food Editor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer at the time, was looking for squash blossoms. Lee came home and said, 'There's a customer who wants the squash flowers'. We couldn't figure out why she'd want them, but I told Lee if she wants to buy them, we'll bring them to market. Gradually, she and other customers began to ask for specialty peppers, eggplants, greens, and herbs.

Q: Did you have to build new facilities and greenhouses all at once or did you start small and grow bit by bit?

A: Well, we lost the farm in the early 1980s and had to start back over. Bobby put an ad in the paper for the hardtop on his CJ-7 Jeep and got 650 bucks for it. He took it to the lumber company and said, 'I want $650 worth of lumber.' Well, this [referring to a small greenhouse] is what $650 worth of lumber would get you in 1983. That was how the size of our first greenhouse was determined.

Q: How did you learn so much about the technical aspects of running a farm that caters to such an elite and discerning crew of chefs?

A: Bobby attended Ohio State University as an horticulture major while Lee attended marketing courses at the same school. They also made visits to restaurant hubs across America to learn more about the needs of our clientele.

Q: How did visiting restaurants help you in the field?

A: The ideal situation for the chefs, and the chefs have told us this, is to be able to walk out the backdoor of the kitchen and into the garden. A few chefs have that. Some places have a small show garden where they'll have small tomato plants and every customer thinks that the tomatoes in their salad came from that plant. The second best thing for everybody else who doesn't have a garden in or just outside of the kitchen is to have their own personal gardener. The Chef's Garden facilitates this. They tell us what they want grown and we grow it.

Q: How can you be sure their requests will be successful?

A: During weekly 'show and tell' sales meetings, a product from each department is evaluated and discussed. Mary and her crew from the herb house may present fresh ginger roots, ginger shoots, and ginger leaves. Wendy and her greenhouse team may present the season's micro red mustard or delicate asparagus ferns and roots. As seeds are tested each season in the experimental gardens, the best of each crop are used. Some varieties seem market or culinary worthy, while others, like Romanesco cauliflower, will be rejected.