It is easier for people to imagine a $5 million country manor in Fairfield County than a farm. The rubber boots on Greenwich Avenue rarely see mud.
But when the dinner bell rings, officials at the Department of Agriculture want people to remember local farms exist and their products should be on your plate.
Roughly 76 restaurants and other establishments across the state participated in this year”™s fourth annual Farm-to-Chef Week, bringing locally grown produce, meat and wine to patron”™s plates. But while more farms and venues participated in this year”™s event than in previous years, the rate of participation is still lower than Agriculture Department officials would like, especially in Fairfield County.
Only 15 food venues in Fairfield County participated in the week and two-thirds were schools. Similarly only four Fairfield County farms participated, while there are at least 16 producers and wholesalers in the county actively involved in the department”™s general “Farm to Chef” program.
“It”™s really a question of people not knowing about it,” Linda Piotrowicz, program director for Farm-to-Chef Week, said. “Restaurants get bombarded with this week and that week. In Hartford, for instance, there”™s both the Connecticut Food & Wine Festival and Taste of Hartford. I know they get bombarded with special events all the time. It gets lost in the shuffle.”
Most of the fees collected by participating venues go toward advertising. But with a fee as low as $25 per restaurant, the advertising budget is pretty small, Piotrowicz said, especially when compared to restaurant week in places like the Hudson Valley, where participating restaurants are charged $700.
Despite the relatively small size of the event, however, Piotrowicz said it still accomplishes its goals. It increases awareness among diners and residents about Connecticut-grown ingredients and it strengthens the connection between farms and restaurants. Piotrowicz said she has heard of several instances where the week has supplied both farmers and restaurants with new regular customers.
Sometimes chefs don”™t realize they”™re able to get Connecticut-grown meat and poultry, she said. Other times chefs are able to experiment with new menus to see if customers respond positively.
“A lot of food is being grown out of the country and we don”™t have much control over how it is grown,” Piotrowicz said. “If it”™s local, they can ask questions, go to farm and see how it”™s produced.”
Pete Sepe, who owns Sepe Farm in Sandy Hook with his wife and family, said he was surprised more farms weren”™t registered for the event. He has found several regular customers from participating in the week during the last three years. For 20 years his family farm has offered ground lamb and other lamb products year round.
“That”™s the trick of the trade,” Sepe said. “You got to try to make it easy for the chef. It takes collaboration both ways. Chefs like to know what”™s out there and they”™re so busy that when they take the time to look at what venues there are, hopefully you”™ve made it easy to find yourself.”
Sepe”™s lambs are free-range and are raised without being treated with hormones, additives or antibiotics. As his daughters and their families become more involved in the farm, Sepe said he”™d like to see the business grow larger and more efficient, but never at the cost of sacrificing quality. The farm primarily relies on orders from local markets, chefs and private family orders.
“People want to know where they can get Connecticut grown products, especially lamb,” Sepe said. “This week is one more way to promote it.”
