 by Anne Dailey Issue 43 (Oct/Nov 08) [Copyright © 2008, The Valley Table] Chefs and farmers traditionally are strong-minded, demanding personalities. When they form a working relationship, it can't be all business, nor can it be just about feel-good local eating. By necessity, the relationship demands flexibility, openness and honesty about what works and what doesn't. A chef who demands every vegetable be a certain size, or arrive without a speck of dirt at 3pm every other day is not the chef who's likely to work with a local farmer who, like nature, doesn't have the time or, often, the patience, to deal with such limitations. And a farmer who can't ever deliver on time won't get very far with a chef who's trying to plan a menu. But when a supply-and-demand balance is achieved, the relationship (and the business) between a chef and a farmer can succeed with striking simplicity. Shelley Boris, of Fresh Company Catering, and Guy Jones, of Blooming Hill Farm, seem to have found that balance. The two have conversations about products and recipes; she recommends his products to chefs, he recommends her catering business to his retail customers. They're quick to crack a joke with each other about the business. Jones also sends faxes of available product, on time, every day, and Boris doesn't fuss about a potato arriving with dirt on it. She often designs menus specifically around what's available from Jones, and he will make a special delivery if necessary. "It sounds really obvious," Boris says, "But most people aren't like that." A chef who works well with a farmer can't carry the mindset that "a tomato is a tomato." A local farmer likely grows several varieties of any given crop, and has transplanted them, staked them, then picked them ripe off the vine. "When you're holding one of our tomatoes," Jones says, "You kind of get a feeling for it, you get some vibe there--it's got a little 'soul.' Shelley gets that--she's able to deal with the vagaries of doing business with a local farmer." Those vagaries include a host of small-scale farming issues, including an occasional crop shortage. "This year, [Guy] didn't have a lot of asparagus, and it wasn't a very good strawberry year," Boris notes, "But every year is different--it's fun. Guy's produce is better tasting--it's in season, it's picked at the right time." Likewise, a farmer who works well with a chef won't have the mindset that "a customer is a customer." There are distinct differences between retail customers, who may come less often but will pay far more per item, and wholesale customers, who need a lower prices but may order a few hundred dollars of produce a week with some regularity. "Guy understands the difference between resale and wholesale," Boris says. "He has a focus on wholesale, and I really appreciate that. His prices are fair, and he delivers--he just 'gets' chefs and what they need and what they're looking for." Indeed, Jones, who has worked with restaurants and chefs for a long time, primarily in New York City, clearly understands his competition and the need to stay ahead of the curve. "Years ago, what our competition was selling was crap," he notes. "The big people have all gotten better at what they're doing, so it's made it very competitive. A lot of chefs, like Shelley, can have anything brought in. There have to be eight or ten distributors coming into the Hudson Valley, bringing world-class, unique products from around the world. That's what we're competing with. You want to give something unique to your customer so they choose to buy from you rather than someone else." Boris, who started Garrison-based Fresh Company in 2004, works with clients large and small. She's found that a relationship with Blooming Hill Farm melds perfectly into her company's mission, and her own desire to, as she says, "make people happy and comfortable, and also surprise them a little bit with things that they will love. Seasonal cooking is full of surprises, especially when a local farmer is your primary source." Each season she puts up tomatoes and stores cabbage, potatoes and root vegetables, primarily from Blooming Hill Farm. "Guy's produce is not super precious," she adds, "So it works for me." "I'm able to take full-grown things from Guy--sometimes irregular or less beautiful--and make them work. I can say, 'You can send me the really ripe tomatoes or the big zucchinis.' I can grate them or cut them differently. It's not any less delicious." The two are fans of each other's craft, and they talk shop and trade ideas often. "Whenever I go over there, I always stick my finger in whatever she's got going," Jones laughs. "She's very talented." Having worked with dozens of chefs over the years, Jones has seen the ins and outs of the business, and watched many chefs drop other producers who were unwilling to put in the extra effort. He is approached each year by far more chefs than he can supply, but notes with a chuckle, "They weed themselves out." Boris has stuck around. "She's very sincere about what she's trying to do--the whole local thing," he says. "She's the kind of customer you want to have." Jones's many relationships with chefs in New York City have been helpful to Boris, as well, who sometimes catches wind of a new idea through Jones. "He'll tell me if he sees a chef cook something in a fun way," she says. "And if I do something, I might share that with him--we definitely chat and check in." This year, in fact, Fresh Company will cater weddings on site at Blooming Hill Farm. Boris frequently works with non-profit organizations that, she notes, "love the idea of working with a local farmer." Catering menus for such events often need to be planned far in advance, something that could be tough for a local farmer. Jones, though, has figured that out as well. "He keeps a careful journal," Boris says. "So, for example, when I was planning a menu for the Dia [Art Foundation] fundraiser, I told him the exact date, and he was able to look up what he had at that time the previous few years. Of course no two years are exactly the same, but it really helps." Simply put, Boris wants what Jones is selling. "I've never not done this," she says. "I'm an old-time farmers' market person--my mom took me to markets as a kid in New Jersey, and I remember the beginning of the Greenmarkets in the city, how relieved I was that they were coming back." Boris has always been on the hunt for the best ingredients, and over the years has determined that the best ingredients--those with character and true flavor--come from nearby farms. As Jones says of his products, "There are no bright lights, and there's little bit of dirt in the cracks and crevices--it's not homogenized." Shelley Boris and Guy Jones wouldn't have it any other way. Fresh Company Catering, PO BOX 187, Garrison (845) 424-8204 www.freshcompany.net Blooming Hill Farm, 1251 Route 208, Blooming Grove (845) 782-7310 www.bloominghillfarm.com |
