Bus tour takes chefs straight to the farm

By Sean Ellis

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s Culinary Harvest Tour took local chefs straight to the farm and introduced them to local farmers and ranchers.

The chefs want to offer their customers more items produced locally and the agricultural producers they visited are eager to sell their locally produced products straight to local restaurants.

The Aug. 19 tour was hosted by Idaho Preferred, an ISDA program that exists to support producers of agricultural products grown or raised locally.

One way the program does that is by taking chefs straight to the farm and showing them what some of Idaho’s 22,877 farms and ranches have to offer.

“We’re bringing them directly to producers so that if a restaurant wants to work directly with a grower … we’re helping provide that opportunity to make those connections,” said Idaho Preferred Program Manager Erica White.

“It’s important to get to know where your food comes from,” she added. “This is that direct connection to get a restaurant, a chef, more directly integrated with where food is coming from.”

Sherry Gronkowski, one of the tour participants, said she was impressed with what she experienced on the tour.

“The local farmers and ranchers have created such an amazing agricultural environment for not only the community, but for restaurant owners and other people that buy produce,” she said. “It’s amazing what they have to offer.”

Gronkowski and her husband own Brick 29 in Nampa. He’s the chef. She’s the operations manager.

Gronkowski said that while the establishment currently gets about 95 percent of its food items locally, it would purchase 100 percent if possible.

She said her restaurant customers are always asking questions such as, Where did you get this? How do I get this? How did you make it? What did you make it with?

“To be able to provide a progressive culinary experience to our guests, we need to have quality product,” she said. “What better way to have quality product than to shop with local vendors? It’s very, very important to us.”

According to a National Restaurant Association survey in 2023, 62 percent of consumers surveyed said that locally sourced food would make them choose one restaurant over another.

The 2022 Census of Agriculture shows that 7 percent of Idaho’s 22,877 farms and ranches sell directly to consumers.

Tour participants were taken by bus to five agricultural operations where farm owners shared a little about the history of their operation and let them know what they grow or produce and how they do it.

The first stop was McIntyre Pastures in Caldwell, which offers a diverse range of products, such as pasture-raised pork, chicken, duck, turkey, grass-fed beef and fresh eggs.

“Our main focus is regenerative farming,” said owner Maria McIntyre. “We got super excited about it and wanted to share it with everybody.”

The second stop was at Wissel Farms in Nampa, which specializes in a diverse mix of vegetables and melons, including green beans, sweet corn, cabbage, winter squashes, watermelons and pumpkins.

“We’ve tried a lot of things for quite some time,” said owner Matt Wissel.

The next stop was at Boise River Lamb in Caldwell, which raises premium lamb. It is run by sixth-generation farmers Brett and Liz Wilder.

The ranch was historically a cattle operation but has transitioned to a sheep ranch.

“We’ve been known for very high-quality animals,” Brett Wilder told participants as he led them on a tour of the operation and answered questions. “My philosophy is, we do one thing and we better do it really, really well.”

The fourth stop, where a lunch with all Idaho ingredients was served, was at 3100 Cellars in Garden City, the only winery in Idaho dedicated to making sparkling wines.

“We’ve really flown under the radar,” said winemaker Hailey Minder. “We’re excited to start introducing ourselves to people who know the Idaho landscape quite well.”

Tour participants then headed to Fiddler’s Green Farm, a certified organic operation nestled in the Dry Creek Valley near Boise.

The operation offers a wide selection of vegetables and cut flowers and its products are sold at the Boise Farmers Market, the Boise Co-Op and to several local restaurants.

The final stop was at Charlie’s Produce, a wholesale produce company based in Boise that delivers a wide range of conventional and organic produce to foodservice and retail outlets.

White said Idaho Preferred wanted to show participants a little bit of everything and it was not an accident that the tour occurred during harvest season.

“We’re trying to show off Idaho agriculture,” she said. “We want to make sure we’re showcasing everything, from the ranchers to our farmers; as much of our agriculture community that we can show off.”

Javier Marroquin, who owns and runs Fruitdmar, a catering and delivery business in the area, said the tour was definitely a plus for him and helped introduce him to a lot of potential food items that he would prefer to buy directly from local farmers.

“We want to get as much of our food as possible sourced locally,” he said. “You get more fresh picking, flavor wise. You also want to help them grow as they help you grow as well.”