Eat Local

I hate... let me repeat, HATE it when customers stand at the door of the restaurant before we open. It's first thing in the morning (to me), I haven't had my double latte yet, and the 11:30am opening time is clearly posted on the door. If it's not 11:30 yet, go away. You're not a puppy dog waiting to be let in out of the rain.

This morning at 10:30 sharp, such an expectant individual gazed through the glass of the front door as I was tucking my shirt in, and belting up. Not only am I obligated to go deal with this person while I'm still warming up to humanity, but she saw me stuffing my tattooed mitts in my pants. How rude. As I open the door, I immediately notice the generous basket of colorful produce in her arms. “I'm here for the business networking luncheon?” She was an hour early. “I'm with Green Earth Organics.” So she's not rude after all – just a little spaced out. Luckily, shes aware enough to get the hint that I'm far from ready to host her, so she walks off to enjoy the park for an hour. I bet she enjoyed that hour, too. Plenty of trees to hug.

The rest of the day is just like any other. Big business luncheon in one room, middle aged professionals and retirees in the other. Bitching about the Olympics with Allan from Spirit Lifters, and mimicking trumpet sounds with Robin from EcoLab while he fixed my glass washer (Chef KB took the broken chemical pump and smashed it against a rock to extract the solenoid, because she hoardes copper wire... only you, Chef). After the networking luncheon, Danielle of the Earth approaches me on her way out and offers me a pamphlet for her company. We end up talking about Slow Food, Carlo Petrino and community-supported agriculture (CSA). Her company is similar in concept, sourcing as many locally produced varieties as possible, but also offering imported organic products (from soy milk to sausages). They deliver parcels of organic produce to your door, once every week or two. Part of the idea is that you're getting this produce more directly from the source than if a large company like Safeway bought it from a large produce distributor like Sysco, who in turn bought it from a large farm conglomerate who in turn bought it from the farm, where it was mass produced. The profits from your purchase are traced more directly back to the farmers, not skimmed by a dozen distributors and middlemen along the way. This produce is much more easily traceable to farms that offers fair wages to producers – which is where we come in. That's why we purchase on a prescribed regular basis, to offer more consistency to the producers – they deserve job security just as much as we do.
Whether you believe that it is your responsibility as a consumer to invest in the dignity and security of local food growers, organic items are measurably healthier than their chemically-treated dopplegangers. And their taste – exists. It's funny how chemical engineers can make bacon aroma that's more one-dimensionally bacon-y than the real thing, and how artificial grape flavor taste way more grape-y than most grapes (except Okanagan coronation grapes... WOW). But the difference between a chemical-pumped tomato and its organic alternative is like the difference between Boston Pizza and Brick Oven Pizzeria. Between Joey's and il Jiardino. Cactus Club and le Crocodile. And if you can't tell the difference, then I don't know how you even found this blog. Buy local.