Frozen Vegetables
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 12:30AM 
Bill with his bees
Eating locally is easy in the summer—but will you chip a tooth on your turnip in winter?
Bill Thurlow is perusing the booths set up in the Fairmont Chateau Laurier's Drawing Room, part of a meet and greet between Ottawa restaurateurs and local farmers hosted by Savour Ottawa, an organization that promotes local eating in the city. Even though it's mid-March, it still feels like winter outside, and I am curious to see what kind of produce local farmers can offer this time of year. Thurlow is guzzling coffee and seems to know everyone in the room, slapping backs and trading smiles. The old farmer ambles into my periphery, fresh cup in hand, and asks, “Now, would you like to try the best honey in the world?
He offers me a taste of his cinnamon honey butter, and as it dissolves in my mouth and heads straight for my brain's pleasure centres, Thurlow expounds on the health benefits of pure, unpasteurized honey—it's packed with antioxidants. Before I can get a word in he's thrusting another sample at me, and this time I try some of Bill's Country Garden Honey and get a quick lesson on honey production. His enthusiasm is apparent, but superfluous. He takes a breath, and I'm finally able to tell him he's right about his honey.
Thurlow, who runs Heavenly Honey, is just one of many Ottawa-area farmers and restaurateurs who are responding to the growing number of diners seeking locally-sourced food and drink in the Capital. Heather Hossie, coordinator of Savour Ottawa, is excited that our city is active in the local food movement. “The great thing about Ottawa,” says Hossie, “is that we do have a large and increasing number of smaller, independent restaurants that have the ability to bring in local food more easily than some of the larger chain-type restaurants.”
Thirty of the Capital's restaurants are part of Savour Ottawa, most of them found on “Epicurean Row”—a string of trendy restaurants along Wellington West that includes Juniper Kitchen and Wine Bar, Petit Bill's Bistro and Absinthe Café—and in the Byward Market, along whose crowded sidewalks can be found Murray Street and Domus Café. Admittedly, these restaurants attract mostly "foodies"—afficionados of food and drink—who can be satisfied only by exquisite menus that emphasize fresh, local produce. This is easy to do in the summer, but what about in the winter? Foodies don't hibernate, so how do they survive to the following spring?
The local food movement
The idea of eating locally began as part of the Slow Food movement, founded in Paris in 1989 with the signing of the “Slow Food Manifesto.” Slow Food sought to “counter the rise of fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.”
It wasn't until the first decade of the new millennium that Slow Food came to North America, opening its New York office in 2000, and began to gain rapid momentum. The core ideas of Slow Food led to the creation of other sustainability movements, one being the local food movement. By the end of the decade, books on sustainability and the importance of eating locally began topping national bestseller lists. Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (2006) and In Defense of Food (2008), and Paul Roberts' The End of Food (2008) all served to excite public interest in and recognition of local eating. But none more so than Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon's The 100-Mile Diet (2007), which showed that eating locally was more than just a great idea—it was possible.
This trend caught on quickly with Ottawa diners who have come to expect menus full of locally-sourced dishes and have no problem paying a premium for them. “There are a whole lot of reasons for supporting local,” says Hossie. “For some people it's environmental concerns, other people want to support their local economy and local farmers, and some feel the higher-quality food just tastes better.” For restaurants, membership in Savour Ottawa is one way to support area farmers and attract customers who are enthusiastic about the local food movement. Although it is challenging, this enthusiasm can be maintained through the winter, says Hossie. "There are still lots of things people can eat locally in the winter."
Ottawa is full of foodies
Terry Fitzpatrick, co-owner of Petit Bill's Bistro, says he has people come in to eat specifically because the restaurant is a part of Savour Ottawa. This puts pressure on head chef Glen “Skip” Sansome to satisfy the huge demand for local produce with his menu, something he hasn't encountered anywhere before. Chef Sansome, originally from Newfoundland, grew up in Sarnia, Ontario, and spent ten years working in Toronto kitchens. “Coming to Ottawa, I was a little blown away by the huge number of foodies up here,” he says. “People will come to your restaurant to eat knowing they're supporting local farmers and keeping money in the area.”
O'Brien's beef: delivered fresh weekly during winterNot only does Chef Sansome have to satisfy Ottawa diners' hunger for local produce but also that of Savour Ottawa. This has its challenges during the winter. In order to remain a member of Savour Ottawa and benefit from the marketing and promotion it offers, restaurants need to spend either fifteen per cent of their annual food costs or $25,000 on produce from Savour Ottawa farmers. While Chef Sansome is able to fulfill most of this requirement during the summer—when half his menu is made up of locally-sourced ingredients—the lack of fresh, local produce over the winter has a big influence on his menu. He goes with more meat during the winter, which costs more than produce, to fulfill his Savour Ottawa quota. “It works out well,” he says, “since people tend to eat heavier in the winter anyway—it's comfort food season, right?” That means plenty of duck and pheasant from Mariposa Farm and beef from O'Brien Farms, but also specialty greenhouse greens from Butterfly Sky Farms and dried cranberries from Upper Canada Cranberries. And to wash it all down, pints of Kichesippi beer—brewed right here in the city.
What about the farmers?
That Ottawa diners take such an interest in local eating is great for local farmers and suppliers, but not all have the resources to keep producing through the winter. Andy Terrauds of Acorn Creek Garden Farm shuts down his greenhouses—930 square metres worth—over the winter. The costs are “just too high,” he says with a sigh, exasperated that the 600 varieties of fruits and vegetables he produces between the spring and fall can't distract consumers from the fact that he doesn't produce over the winter. “It doesn't make any sense,” he says, adding that people are willing to pay more for local produce but not the kind of prices needed to cover the cost of heating his greenhouses with oil over the winter. Andy is looking into renewable resources to heat his greenhouses, but admits that the start-up costs are keeping him reliant on fossil fuels.
Dawson Kellln and Bill Thurlow talk shopDawson Kelln of Butterfly Sky farms runs 830 sqare metres of greenhouse year-round but cuts his production back significantly in January. Dawson stays afloat through the winter by offering microgreens and exotic lettuces, which are expensive—one head of his Tatsoi will set you back $8. Restaurants use his produce for garnishes, so one $8 head can be used on nearly a dozen plates. Selling exotic greens is the only way keeping his greenhouses heated through the winter makes sense. “I can't get away with selling a $10 head of lettuce in the winter when it's two or three dollars at Loblaws,” he says, adding that the main reason he stays open in the winter is to keep his clients through to the spring.
Freshness counts
From left to right: Butterfly Sky Farms Pak Choi, Tatsoi and Red Mizuna, picked March 13thSo is eating locally during the winter worth all this trouble? Farmers, restaurateurs and promoters of local eating agree that it is, but not for environmental or economic reasons. For them, it's all about freshness. Dan O'Brien of O'Brien Farms wouldn't dream of providing restaurants and retailers anything but fresh beef, admitting he'd "run of out friends and neighbours" if he delivered his beef frozen.
“Fresher is better by far,” says Chef Sansome, “especially when you can pick a ripe tomato off a vine and put it up against a tomato that had to ripen on a truck—all the sugars in it, it's beautiful.” Andy Terrauds even goes so far as to say that if it isn't available locally, don't eat it. “You're better off taking the box it came in” than buying produce flown in from the United States or Mexico, he says.
“Fresh?” Bill Thurlow scoffed when I asked him about the freshness of his honey over the winter. “Son, honey's got a shelf life of about 5000 years.”
References
Cook, Gay. “Despite Extra Cost, Consumers Prefer Local Foods.” The Ottawa Citizen 4 Jun. 2009: F1. Web. 23 Oct. 2010.
Creighton, Judy. “The 'Eat Local' Trend is Fine, but...How Do we Do That in Winter?” Guelph Mercury (Guelph, ON) 17 Dec. 2008: B1. Web. 23 Oct. 2010.
Edge, John T., “Nothing to Eat.” Rev. of The End of Food, by Paul Roberts. New York Times Book Review 2008: 20. Web. 23 Oct. 2010.
Loriggio, Paola. “Surviving the Locavore Challenge.” Toronto Star 11 Apr. 2009: L1. Web. 23 Oct. 2010.
Maslin, Janet. Rev. of In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan. The New York Times 03 January 2008. Web. 23 Oct. 2010.
Roy, Paula. “Savouring the Best Food Ottawa has to Offer.” Ottawa Business Journal 4 Feb. 2008. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.
Wilkins, Charles. “Think Globally, Shop Locally, Eat Really Well.” Rev. of The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating, by Alisa Dawn Smith. The Globe and Mail 21 Apr. 2007: D10. Web. 23 Oct. 2010.
Reader Comments (1)
Well done Ian! This is the kind of story that makes me want to go to a restaurant for some good, fresh, slow food now!