Imported all the way from next door

Sustainability and Fine Dining

By Eggy Plastaras

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eating Local on Long Island

 

Home for me is Long Island, New York— and during the summer, I spend most of my time out east in Shelter Island. Although Shelter Island is a short ferry ride from the glitz, glam and gluttony of the Hamptons, many people actually refer to Shelter Island as the “anti-Hamptons”. That does not mean however, that all the fine dining is exclusive to the Hamptons. In 2011, 18 Bay changes their menu each week according to what ingredients are available in the local area. For $65, customers receive a four-course meal where they begin with appetizers, followed by a house made pasta, a choice of meat or fish and a dessert. Driven by their commitment to using local ingredients, head chefs and owners Elizabeth Ronzetti and Adam Kopels often purchase their produce from the farm stand across the street from the restaurant, and don’t stray much further than 100 miles to purchase other ingredients. Now you may be asking yourself- “why go through the hassle of searching for ingredients only within a certain radius when you can just buy those same ingredients at the store?” Well, Ronzetti and Kopels want to be “ambassadors and show people what [we] have.” It’s about the principle. Sure, it would be convenient to do a one-stop shopping trip, but by utilizing the resources from the local area, 18 Bay is directly investing in their local economy, and reducing their carbon footprint- all while still serving a five-star meal.

 

Los Angeles can do local too!

 

Now, if you don’t have the time to hop on a plane to New York and then drive two and a half hours east to Shelter Island, have no fear— Los Angeles is by no means lacking in sustainable fine dining. Farm-to-table is another trending topic within sustainable fine dining. What is farm to table you ask? Farm-to-table generally means that the food on your plate comes directly from the farm that the restaurant has a relationship with. If you were to visit Yelp.com and type: “farm to table” in Los Angeles, over 1,000 results would be found. Now refine that search to more upscale restaurants, and over 300 results would still be returned.

 

Now for those of you who are unable to venture over to Shelter Island, there are numerous restaurants right here in Los Angeles which also source locally. A.O.C. in Beverly Hills opened its doors over ten years ago, and at the time, their “small plates” were a new concept to Angelino foodies. Today, the restaurant has expanded, but it continues to hyper-locally source ingredients and offers a wide selection of sustainable spirits. If you were intrigued by 18 Bay’s prix fixe chef’s menu, it would be worthwhile to pay a visit to Papille’s Bistro over in Hollywood. Similar to 18 Bay, the menu at Papille’s Bistro is seasonal, ever-changing, and manly sourced from local farmers. As opposed to the four courses that 18 Bay offers, Papille’s offers three courses and prices their prix fixe menu at roughly $36 (papillesla.com).

 

So what’s the big picture?

 

Where we source our food matters. It matters for our health, it matters for our economy, and it matters for the environment. In recent years, the media has exposed the horrors of the food industry to the public. Purdue was exposed for the shocking conditions of their chicken farms, and McDonald’s was called out for their “pink slime.” When you or I go to our local farm, we can see how the chickens are raised, and we can hold the raw product in our own hands. Knowing exactly what we put into our bodies not only gives us peace of mind, but it also ensures that we’re not eating pink slime.

 

Regarding the economy— when you buy local, you support local. When we buy a peach from the farm stand, I know that the money I used to purchase that peach does not cover costs of importing it from- say Canada. Not only are we adding to our county’s GDP, we’re also adding to the value of our local community.

 

Environmentally speaking, in buying local, we are also helping to slow global warming. Each time we export and purchase goods that had to travel to reach us, we pay for the gas used to distribute the good. Buying local means that we won’t have to import as many goods and in decreasing imports, we decrease fuel usage and the harmful emissions from combustion, which is a major cause of global warming (About.com). Who would’ve thought that buying locally could have such profound impacts?

 

By sourcing ingredients locally, not only are restaurants promoting sustainability, they’re also utilizing tastier ingredients. When food is locally sourced, ingredients pass through a smaller supply chain and end up on the plate much faster than commercially sold ingredients. For example, an apple purchased from your local supermarket has most likely seen the inside of several trucks, and been refrigerated overnight— where as an apple at the local farmer’s market never has been commercially shipped or refrigerated. In addition, ingredients sold at a farmer’s market are typically seasonal. In the past before advanced commercialized farming and shipping, it was impossible to purchase certain ingredients during certain seasons. Technology has since changed that and nearly every type of vegetable, fruit, etcetera is available whenever you desire (Bardo, 2). But have you ever tasted a tomato in the winter and compared it to a tomato that you tasted in the summer? The “winter tomato” is often light pink and flavorless, while the summer tomato is a vibrant red and juicy. When restaurants such as 18 Bay and Papille’s Bistro source locally, they not only help their economy and environment, they also create better tasting dishes.

 

Could sustainable fine dining be too trendy?

 

“Trend” can sometimes suggest that the practice is fleeting, but in light of how necessary sustainability has become across multiple industries- I think it would be unlikely for sustainable fine dining to disappear any time soon. Sustainability is no longer some hipster concept. It is evolving into a complete and utter necessity. What should be questioned is not the fate of sustainability dining, but the fate of industrialized food sources.

 

 

 

References

 

Bardo, Matt, and Michelle Warwicker. "Does Farmers' Market Food Taste Better?" BBC News.

                BBC Food, 24 June 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

 

Schomer, Inka. "Sustainable Dining in NYC: The Changing Landscape of Food." The Huffington Post.

                TheHuffingtonPost.com, 8 Jan. 2015. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.

 

Sesar, Misha. "8 GREAT FARM-TO-TABLE RESTAURANTS IN L.A." Forageandpasture.com. N.p., 24 July

                2014. Web.          

 

Starkey, Joanne. "Locavores in Love." The New York Times, 25 May 2013. Web. 10

                Feb. 2015.

 

Talk, Earth. "How Does Eating Locally Grown Food Help the Environment?" About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10

                Feb. 2015.

 

Zavatto, Amy. "Location, Location, Location - Edible East End." Edible East End, 10 Apr.

                2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.