Farmer Resources : Table Talk Outcomes 9/28/04

Table Talk Outcomes, September 28, 2004

Attended:
Chef/restaurant reps: Ed Witt, Il Buco; Mary Cleaver, Cleaver Co.; Edward Martinez, Café Deville; Jody Hunter, Peter Hoffman, Savoy; Hugh Crickmore, Galen Zamarra, Mas; Caroline Fidanza, Andrew & Mark, Diner; Marc Meyer, Five Points; Bill Brasile, 360;
Producer reps: Glen Rowse, Manx Station Farm; Chris Mitchell; Dave Horn; Nancy & Alan Brown, Lewis Waite Farm; Lisa Saunders, Saunders Family Farm; Others: Paula Schafer, Judith Kleinberg, Cornell Coop Ext.; Nina Planck, Slow Food; JoHanna Kolodny; Barbara King & Jeff Polhonius, Sunrise Stock Farm.

What We Learned: The group of chefs we met with are committed to the principles of using local and sustainable foods. But as one chef characterized using local sustainable products: "It's an obligation in a sense and a pleasure, but business principles get in the way". Cost is a significant issue with chefs (as well as with farmers).

General:

• Chefs vastly prefer fresh meat to frozen. Frozen may be ok for meats that are braised or stewed, but for grilling meat fresh is essential in their view.
• A steady, reliable supply is important for menu items.

Beef

• A whole, half or even quarter of a full-sized cow is too large for these small restaurants to handle. "Baby beef" size is more usable for them.
• The diners' expectations around "steak" means that for the foreseeable future, chefs will continue to buy grilling steaks from sources where they are uniform and plentiful. FCX producers may get better price and marketability selling these cuts at retail.
• There is a market for beef tongue, cheeks and tail. It's acceptable for these items to be frozen. Suggestion: Several producers save and freeze these parts and then sell them together when there is sufficient quantity.
  • Quantities: Diner: 200lbs ground meat/week; could take entire rib eye not further cut up - if fresh; Five Points: grinds his own ground meat from 130 lbs chuck/week;

Poultry

• Sizes for poultry between just under 3 lbs to 3 ½ lbs. Cleaver Co. can use larger birds for their pot pie business.
• Want fresh birds. Fresh is more important than pasture-raised, etc.
• Will take birds with neck, head/feet and fat attached and liver, heart and gizzard (uncleaned) included. Chefs use these parts for stock, etc. Could pay $2.25 for birds packaged this way. Assuming ave of ½ lb for these additional parts, this would raise the price for a 3 lb bird at $2.25/lb to equivalent of $2.62/lb as currently offered.
• Other poultry desired
  • Duck: currently little availability for local. Paying $16/bird for Pekins - ave weight 5 lbs.)
  • Guinea hens - highly desired, local not available
  • Capons, squab also desired

Other Meats

• There is a market for ½ lamb, whole goat, up to ½ pig - want them fresh.
• Large demand for fresh game meat, including venison and wild boar as well as rabbit.
  • Quantities: Il Buco: ½ pig/week; Mas: with only 12 tables anything other than cuts is too large for them to handle, however they use many (#? My memory must be wrong, because it says 15/day. That seems like a lot) lamb racks. (restaurant?): 2 venison legs/week.

Dairy

• Market for non-homogenized milk. Only one outlet at present locally.
• Fresh dairy products highly desired: cream, milk, crème fraiche, fresh cheeses
• Some chefs want butter to be "cultured" as it has more flavor; for others sweet butter is fine
  • Quantities: IlBuco: 10 gal milk and 10 gal cream/week. Now pays $98/5 gal cream.

Eggs

• Restaurants are using 20 - 50 dozen organic or pasture-raised eggs per week.

Suggestions For Future/Next Steps

• Set up a calendar of when specific producers plan to process animals over several months so that producers and chefs can coordinate fresh meat orders timed for when animals will be processed.
• Is there a possibility for year-round or close to year-round fresh poultry by using hoop house or barn free-range methods to extend season beyond traditional "pastured"?
• Would cooperatively selling meat among several producers boost overall sales to restaurants profitably? This may be especially relevant for items like ground beef and chickens with high volume demand.
• Provide chefs with additional information that can be used with dining customers around local, grass-fed, pastured, and other important areas related to sustainable production and healthy eating.
• Have a follow-up meeting to keep conversation/plans moving forward