Photo courtesy of HoQ Restaurant<\/p><\/div>\n

Restaurants around the Midwest cater to customers by using fresh, local ingredients<\/span><\/h5>\n

Words and photos by Beth LeValley<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

At one time, the garlicky mashed potatoes you ate for dinner, the potato chips you munched on while you watched TV and the greasy cheeseburger you scarfed down at the drive-thru all came from a farm. But where was the farm located, and how far did it travel to get to your plate?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone, to an extent, is farm-to-table,\u201d said Eric Johnson, of restaurant owners. He is the head chef at Northside Bistro in Iowa City.<\/span><\/p>\n

The farm-to-table movement began in the 1970s when advocates like Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, wanted ingredients with more flavor. After spending time in France, she realized food in the United States didn\u2019t taste as fresh. She started her own organic, local business \u2014 and created an entire food movement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The farm-to-table movement didn\u2019t fully catch on until about the mid-2000s, when restaurants around the nation considered themselves suppliers of local produce. Some argue the movement has already passed <\/span>\u2014<\/span> others believe it is only growing.<\/span><\/p>\n

With plenty of access to local farms, restaurants around the Midwest are capitalizing on this movement and partnering with farms to create menus that customers can feel good about.<\/span><\/p>\n

Northside Bistro, located in Iowa City, Iowa, uses local ingredients for about 80 percent of its entire menu. About 40 farmers supply ingredients to the restaurant, and about 30 of those farmers are within a 15 to 20-mile radius.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chef Eric Johnson, the head chef at Northside Bistro, believes there are many benefits to partnering with local farmers \u2014 it generates fresher food, higher quality products, more nutrition and even lowers environmental concerns. People may argue that it is more expensive, but Johnson said there is often a lower price as long as restaurants buy consistently.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you buy organic through corporations, you\u2019re paying 50 percent more than what I\u2019m paying,\u201d Johnson said. He also said buying local makes his restaurant more unique. \u201cThis year, I gave (farmers) a list of about 80 products that I want specifically for Northside only. That\u2019s for us then. No one else in the area has that. It sets us apart.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Chefs at Northside Bistro prepare locally-raised chickens, which they say provides a superior quality in taste and texture.<\/p><\/div>\n

LT Organic Farm is located in Waukee, Iowa and offers another benefit: preventative medicine. Co-owners Ahilia and LT Bhramdat grow all the vegetables they use in their backyard and believe that local ingredients have more health benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur health is dictated by our immune system, and our immune system is strengthened by the nutrients that are found in locally-grown, fresh-harvested, vine-ripened fruits and vegetables,\u201d said LT Bhramdat. \u201cIn this country, our food travels thousands of miles to get to the table, so the active nutrients to help our immune systems are failing. We try to fill that void by educating the consumer and also the local farmers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

LT Organic Farm is located in the backyard of the Bhramdat\u2019s house. Find the restaurant in a converted bar.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Bhramdats originally were a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), and once they realized customers don\u2019t know how to cook unfamiliar vegetables, they created cooking and nutrition classes. After that, it was easy to transition into a seasonal restaurant.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every night from May through November, they cook a meal fresh for their customers, <\/span>including <\/span>those who have special diets, <\/span>those<\/span> who are looking to gain knowledge in nutrition and those who simply enjoy a fresh meal.<\/span><\/p>\n

LT Organic Farm started because the Bhramdats missed their lifestyle in South America, where they lived before coming to the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey plant their gardens, raise their livestock, and that\u2019s how they live. They don\u2019t even use chemicals or anything,\u201d Ahilia Bhramdat said. \u201cAnd now you come here, and you have to get a certification to become organic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To become certified as \u201corganic,\u201d a farmer or restaurant must get reviewed by a National Organic Program accredited agent. It generally costs anywhere from $500 to $1,500 to become certified. Some believe a certification similar to this should be used with the term \u201cfarm-to-table,\u201d but others think it\u2019s a nuisance to go through that process.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf they really want to be sneaky or tricky, you can find ways to say \u2018farm-to-table,\u2019\u201d said Johnson. \u201cYou buy (local) once or twice and call yourself farm-to-table, but you\u2019re never buying from them again \u2026 a certain amount of honesty has to be present.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the definition in the 2008 Food, Conservation and Energy Act, the total distance that a product can be transported and still be considered a local or regional agricultural product is less than 400 miles from its origin. Often, that can mean driving through multiple states and is similar to driving from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to St. Louis, Missouri.<\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast, Suman Hoque, the owner of HoQ restaurant in Des Moines, Iowa, said 80 percent of his ingredients come from a 30-mile radius. The other 10 percent of his menu that is considered local comes from about a 70-mile radius.<\/span><\/p>\n

HoQ even offers local beers, featuring brews from Confluence, Madhouse Brewing Company and Peace Tree Brewing Co.<\/p><\/div>\n

Hoque uses these local ingredients because he believes it drastically changes the taste.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI\u2019m from Bangladesh, so we always get our food from a source where we know where the food comes from,\u201d Hoque said. \u201cI worked at a restaurant in Colorado, and they didn\u2019t know where the food came from \u2026 the potatoes didn\u2019t taste like potatoes. The chicken didn\u2019t taste like chicken.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Diners enjoy dessert at HoQ on a quiet Saturday afternoon.<\/p><\/div>\n

Compared with restaurants that use a large supplier, farm-to-table menus allow for more creativity with the ingredients. HoQ\u2019s menu uses bison in a bison burger topped with a duck egg, which isn\u2019t typically found on restaurant menus. This creativity often lends itself to those who have specialty diets. Farm-to-table restaurants can cater to those who are gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian or lactose-free.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another benefit Hoque found was that his food waste is much smaller than other restaurants.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn this country, I think 40 percent of the food goes in the garbage,\u201d Hoque said. \u201cAt the end of the night, I have a small garbage. I buy whole cows, so I use everything, from the head to the tail, and my cost goes down.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hoque came to one conclusion that he and other farm-to-table chefs are trying to combat: \u201cOur food system\u2019s scary.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lilah Anderson, Des Moines resident and Youth and Family Coordinator at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens, frequents HoQ because she knows it uses local ingredients.<\/span><\/p>\n

But she didn\u2019t just \u201cstart\u201d eating local one day \u2014 it has been a part of growing up, as her parents and family have been shopping at farmers\u2019 markets and gardening since she was little.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a conscious decision,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cI certainly eat things that are not local, but I\u2019m trying to find products that are made responsibly … you have a real active voice in the choices that you make in what you\u2019re buying at the grocery store, or not at the grocery store.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At the Greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens, Anderson has created programs for teenagers to teach them about growing and eating local produce. The program, offered in the winter and summer, features three cooking classes for 12 to 17-year olds. It focuses on teaching teenagers culinary skills and helps them think about produce options, featuring several local farms.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Restaurants around the Midwest cater to customers by using fresh, local ingredients<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n