Articles
8 February 2012

Farm Fresh

Utah Follows Buy-local Dining Trends

by Candace Little

08 February 2012—

 In a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, chefs reported that local sourcing of ingredients and sustainability would be among the hottest trends on restaurant menus in 2010. This fresh-is-best trend is also picking up in Utah, with places like the Painted Pony in St. George growing some of their own produce for more nutritious and environmentally friendly food, and many other Utah restaurants purchasing from farmers markets and food cooperatives, and contracting with local farmers and ranchers. 

 

Local First

Jamie Gillmor’s family has been in the commercial sheep and lamb business for three generations. He and his wife supply meat to Utah restaurants and grocery stores under the Morgan Valley Lamb label. In the past seven years of sourcing to restaurants, Gillmor says he has seen an increase in restaurants using local vendors in an effort to serve better quality foods and encourage sustainability within their communities. Gillmor says there’s a place for local vendors and outsourced vendors, but he says, “I’ll put a good Utah-raised lamb up against any lamb in the world.”   

Mazza is a Salt Lake City café that regularly offers Morgan Valley Lamb, as well as other local ingredients, on its menu. Ali Sabbah, Mazza owner, says while much of his Middle Eastern cuisine requires getting produce from outside the state, he always buys from local producers when he can, and a lot of his meat comes from local sources year round. One of the most popular menu items at Mazza, dolaa, is a traditional lamb and rice dish done Mazza style. Morgan Valley Lamb is seasoned with nine spices and braised, a process that takes all day to cook. The rice is seasoned with strained lamb gravy and topped with almonds and pine nuts for a healthy and tasty meal. 

Sabbah says he sees more and more Utah restaurants opening with an emphasis on serving food found locally, and it’s a trend that will continue to develop into the norm. “In the end when an infrastructure for such distribution is around,” Sabbah says. “The price is going to be so competitive it will make more sense economically for restaurants to use local products.” 

On the Menu

Even though the price to buy from local vendors may not be as competitive now, there are still many restaurants that value local sourcing and sustainability.

Pago is a “farm-to-table” restaurant, meaning its entire menu is centered on local ingredients. It has always been part of Pago owner, Scott Evans’ plan to produce, on his own, some of the food Pago serves, but for now he partners with local farms and artisans for many items including beef, lamb, eggs, flour, trout, cheese and chocolate. 

Evans says he sees tremendous value in using local vendors because it makes the purchase personal and the food is fresher, but also because it gives his chefs an opportunity to present a unique dining experience. “Buying direct forces chefs to be more creative in their menu planning and their ability to adapt to change,” Evans says. “You have to work with what you get, which is exactly what we do and many other restaurants cannot pull off, due to stagnant menus or the large scale of the restaurant.”

Evans says Pago’s menu changes about once a month to keep up with seasonal produce and that produce from regional organic sources is supplemented when it’s not available locally. One of Pago’s January dinner options is lamb ravioli, made with Morgan Valley Lamb, and pasta made with Lehi Roller Mill flour and Clifford Eggs. Other January dishes include bagna cauda bavette steak, pan roasted Utah trout, and hand-cut pasta with braised rabbit. 

Like Gillmor and Sabbah, Evans expects the local ingredients sourcing trend to grow in 2010, but is aware of many restaurants that will continue their efforts already in place. “I do think more restaurants will support local farms and also that more farms will emerge out of this demand,” says Evans. “There are several restaurants that have been using local products for years (Fresco, The Paris, Tin Angel, Log Haven, Squatters) and I anticipate that they purchase more and more goods from local producers, due to availability, philosophy and demand from consumers.” 

Evans believes in restaurant supported agriculture and the farm-to-table ideal—but he’s afraid some may use the term too generally. “I fear that [farm-to-table] may become fashionable and lose its significance, like ‘organic’ and ‘sustainable.’ For us it was the simplest way to explain what we do.”  

Pago’s purpose isn’t to follow the trend, or “become fashionable,” but to serve fresh food and great tasting wine and he found farm-to-table is the best way to do that. Evans says, “It really boils down to quality and integrity.”  


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