By SHEILA HURST
In their search for the freshest ingredients, area restaurant owners and chefs are embracing the farm-to-table movement by dealing directly with local farms and fishermen for anything from lettuce to strawberries to oysters.
The farm-to-table movement grew out of the idea that the fewer hands any produce has to go through to get to the table, the better. After all, if vegetables and herbs eaten right out of the garden contain the most nutritional value, they shouldn’t travel hundreds of miles to get to anyone’s plate.
GENE M. MARCHAND/ENTERPRISE
Intern Moon Vuong works in one of Coonamessett’s greenhouses.
Produce begins to lose nutritional value within 24 hours of harvesting. University of California studies show that vegetables can lose 15 to 55 percent of Vitamin C within a week. Most vegetables will lose 30 percent of nutrients three days after harvesting.
The benefits of farm fresh produce include better taste and nutrition, knowing where your food is coming from, and decreasing the carbon footprint. When restaurant owners buy locally, they’re also helping to strengthen the community.
The ultimate farm-to-table restaurant, The Buffalo Jump, is located on the grounds of Coonamessett Farm in East Falmouth, steps away from greenhouses and rows of red and green lettuce. The Buffalo Jump began with informal pop-up dinners in 2016 and became a full-service restaurant two years later while focusing on farm-fresh ingredients.
Chef Laura Higgins-Baltzley grew up in Falmouth while working in local restaurants, then worked in the restaurant industry in places like California, Chicago, and Boston before returning home.
“I always knew I wanted to return to the Cape, source and build on the beautiful land and seascapes we have available,” she said.
The menu at The Buffalo Jump is always changing, depending on whatever might be growing at the time. This year The Buffalo Jump will continue to offer pre-reserved take-away meals for families of four, which can be taken home or eaten at the covered pavilion overlooking the farm.
“During peak seasons I try to work with the farmers on what is coming in abundance or even what is about to spoil. I can catch it in time to preserve,” Ms. Higgins-Baltzley said. “Quite honestly, I’m the food disposal of the farm fruit and vegetables. Anything that needs to be used, they send it to me, and that’s how most of my dishes are inspired.”
When the farm produces too much, Ms. Higgins-Baltzley will preserve blueberries, strawberries and rhubarb at their peak of freshness. This summer’s menu will focus on comfort foods while highlighting vegan and gluten-free options at both The Buffalo Jump and The Peck O’Dirt Bakery at Coonamessett Farm, which is run by Ms. Higgins-Baltzley’s mother, Annie Konner-Higgins.
When a restaurant isn’t located at a farm, it can be challenging to find a consistent source of fresh produce. Some local chefs will then reach out to a number of farms for the quantity and variety of fruit and vegetables they need.
Water Street Kitchen in Woods Hole looks out over Great Harbor, which is the source of the restaurant’s oysters. Co-owner John Wilson buys his produce from places like Feather Light Farms in Falmouth and Bay End Farm in Buzzards Bay as well as Eva’s Garden in South Dartmouth.
Coonamessett Farm owner Ron Smolowitz points out some of the produce in the store. The Falmouth farm continues to provide its products to the community during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s always great to support local businesses and we get fresh vegetables that are great to use, so it’s a win-win for us,” Mr. Wilson said. “Over the years, whenever the farms are getting their seeds in they ask what we might want to try that’s new.”
His passion for farm-to-table produce came about while working in Pittsburgh restaurants, where menus would change every day depending on what was coming in from the farms.
“It was the culture,” he said. “So many farms are around there, and it was how I grew up.”
Mr. Wilson and his wife Molly opened Water Street Kitchen in 2013, and have been known to go strawberry picking with their children for the restaurant. The menu at Water Street Kitchen is always evolving, depending on the ingredients that are available at local farms.
“In the spring there are peas and asparagus. That transitions to summer greens and tomatoes and corn and that transitions to squash and beans for the fall,” Mr. Wilson said. “The inspiration for the food comes from the ingredients and using local farms and making that a starting point because the ingredients are so fresh and so much care went into that.”
Mr. Wilson is also inspired by global foods and enjoys mixing Mediterranean or Asian flavors with local cuisine. Proclaiming that “Food is love,” Water Street Kitchen’s spring menu lists items like spring pea risotto with grilled asparagus, miso eggplant with scallions, and cioppino with lobster, mussels, littleneck clams, haddock, fennel, tomato, and homemade black bread.
“There are so many great techniques and flavors that pair well with the fresh, local foods that we have here,” he said. “Everything is made from scratch, by hand by cooks who put their hearts into these dishes.”
At Dana’s Kitchen on Palmer Avenue in Falmouth, nine window boxes are filled with a variety of kale, lettuce, herbs, and edible flowers that find their way into the dishes served by Arthur and Dana Tillman.
The seafood used in specialty items like their haddock chowder comes from George’s Bank, the organic coffee is from Plymouth, and the breads used for their sandwiches are from Pain d’Avignon in Hyannis. In addition to sandwiches piled high with fresh vegetables, Dana’s Kitchen also offers bakery items like brownies, lemon bars, and cookies.
“We’re both graduates of the Culinary Institute of America and it’s a dream for us to work together,” Dana said. “We love what we do and we love the high school students that we work with.”
“It’s about doing what we love and being a part of the community and we’re living the dream,” Arthur added.