 by Anne Dailey Issue 42 (Aug/Sept 08) [Copyright © 2008, The Valley Table] These days, it's not uncommon to hear a chef wax poetic about the taste and flavor of local foods, but when have you heard a chef wax poetic on the quality and integrity of a farmer? And how often do you hear farmer using the phrase "He's just amazing" to describe a chef? Let's just say it's not the norm. And yet it accurately describes the relationship between chef Sam Ullman, of Bywater Bistro, and farmer Paul Alward of Veritas Farms. For these two, it's about more than the food--it's about mutual understanding and respect. The food, of course, provides a nice context. Bywater Bistro, on Rosendale's perpetually up-and-coming Main Street, has been open for two years. Veritas Farm, tucked away up on a ridge a few miles away in New Paltz, has been around for three. That they are both newly into their own business may be an important piece of Ullman and Alward's success in working together: They each have, and recognize in the other, a tough entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for what they do, and both men are working hard to grow their businesses, to bring in new customers and to introduce them to a certain kind of food. "I'm working really close to the line, and so are they," says Ullman. "I can empathize with them because I know how difficult it is to be in business for yourself. You have to have a real passion." Alward often brings friends in to eat at Bywater Bistro; Ullman talks up Veritas Farms to diners all the time, and frequently visits the farm. "It's more than just a working relationship," he stresses. In a lot of ways, it has to be more than a working relationship to confront the realities of two businesses that at first glance don't seem suited to working together. For the chef there are margins to meet, time to consider, seats to fill. For the farmer, there are predators to battle, input costs to weigh, and of course the unpredictability of weather and live animals. At Veritas Farms, Alward and his wife, Stephanie Turco, raise Scottish Highland and Devon cattle, Gloucestershire Old Spots and Large Black pigs, heritage turkeys, chickens and ducks, and grow six acres of vegetables. The animals are pastured; the pigs and fowl are supplemented with local organic grain. With such premium products, cost becomes a serious factor for a chef, especially when comparing prices to big distributors like Sysco. Over the past year, Alward and Ullman have acknowledged each other's financial realities, and found ways to work around them. They talk openly about the margins they need to keep, and which costs are going up. "They can't afford to cut their prices in half for me, just like I can't afford to cut my prices in half for anybody who comes into the restaurant," Ullman admits, "but there are things we can do." It began with chicken feet. "We started talking one day," says Ullman, "and they asked what I would do with chicken feet, and I said 'well, I'd use them to enrich my stocks, because they're packed full of these gelatin compounds,' and Paul said, 'We just slaughtered all of our chickens--we have 60 pounds of chicken feet that we usually throw away.' I said, 'Good, bring it to me, and I'll buy it from you for a fair price.'" Ullman now utilizes everything from the chicken feet to gizzards (think authentic Dirty Rice), often cleaning and breaking them down himself, which also helps to offset cost. He makes all his stocks with bones and feet from Veritas Farms, uses more duck legs than breasts (which Alward can easily sell at markets), and buys lesser cuts of beef and pork when he can. For Alward, who, out of principle, slaughters every chicken, duck and turkey himself, it's "tremendous" that he works with a chef who "gets it." "It's always great to sell the premium product," Alward notes, "but there are other parts of the chicken. That was a life that I took; I hate throwing any of it away. Sam understands that and he respects the life of the animal. That's pretty unusual." "You just have to become more creative to work with these things, but that's the excitement for me," Ullman says. "With these products, there's so much more nuance, so much more to experience. I don't want to repeat the same function every day." Ullman's menu is thus unique, changes often, and reflects the personality of both men. "There are more chicken dishes on the day after I have fresh chicken," Alward notes. "He's always modifying the menu with what's fresh and seasonal." This spring, Alward had duck eggs he couldn't sell. "We didn't really know what to do with them--they would have gone to the pigs," Alward admits. Hoping he could use them in baking, they offered the eggs to Ullman; he softly poached the eggs and served them over asparagus risotto, the rich yolk running over the dish, becoming its own sauce. Says Alward, "It was delicious." Alward and Ullman talk about what works and what doesn't, provide feedback and offer each other advice. "We have an open relationship," says Ullman. "We can talk to each other frankly about different elements of our financial relationship, of our businesses. We can talk about goals and new ideas." "I can tell him the grass in this area was a certain way this time of year, so this cow will be a certain way and maybe you want to do this with it," Alward adds. "The time of year and quality of forage definitely affects the flavor--to have someone understand that is amazing." Ullman considers it part of his education, and offers his own thoughts just as often. "I have a different perspective on why it's good to have a certain marblization in the steaks, so he knows why it might be important for him promote that. And if I catch wind of a new trend, I'll bounce ideas off him." In the Veritas/Bywater relationship, egos are completely in check. About the commitment and integrity of the other, both men insist that "It's not me--it's him." "He makes it work, it has nothing to do with me," Alward notes. "It's asking a lot more for a chef to use something other than a filet mignon--it requires a change in thinking. Authentic dirty rice sounds romantic, but he's down in the kitchen cleaning a gizzard--it's his commitment that makes this happen." On the other side of the coin, Ullman praises Alward's commitment to his farm and to his animals, and credits the products with his success in the kitchen. "It's the meat that's great," he jokes. "I just didn't screw it up yet." His belief in the product, and in Alward, is profound. "You might be a CIA trained chef," he says. "You might have apprenticeship from Alain Ducasse under your belt, you might have twice the experience and twice the talent as me, but I have Veritas Farms." Veritas Farms, 32 Rousner Lane, New Paltz (845) 384-6888 www.veritasfarms.com Bywater Bistro, 419 Main Street, Rosendale (845) 658-3210 www.bywaterbistro.com |
