Farm to Fork: Getting diggy with it
Garden State, indeed.Jersey restaurants and farms team up.
SJ Hot Chefs -- the nickname of the South Jersey Independent Restaurant Association, representing about 40 independent eateries -- is running its fifth annual Farm to Fork Week, Sunday, July 17 to Saturday, July 23.
Most of the farms and restaurants are less than a half-hour apart, so it was a snap for me to visit 1895 Organic Farm in Lumberton this morning to watch owner/farmer Kim Batten get into the soil to pull up some beets for Robin Winzinger, chef-owner of Robin's Nest, a mere 10 minutes away in Mount Holly.
In her kitchen, Winzinger then whipped up her signature roasted organic beet salad. (The recipe is here.) In sum, the whole shebang from field to table took less than an hour.
All this, and a great view of the Rancocas Creek.
Participating restaurants will create four-course menus for $25 to $35. See the lineup of restaurants at www.SJHOTchefs.com.