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Local food provides tie to the land
World-renowned chef Stadtlander plans
to stick with winning approach
BY DENIS LANGLOIS / SUN TIMES STAFF
To eat locally grown food is to taste the area’s landscape, says worldrenowned chef Michael Stadtlander. Stadtlander has built a storied career
by creating meals from local ingredients,
a tradition he plans to continue at
his new restaurant, expected to open
in Singhampton this May. The menu
will feature exclusively local food,
Stadtlander announced Saturday during
an eat-local Field to Fork feast in
Owen Sound.
Eating locally grown food supports
local farmers and provides an unmatched
taste, he said.
“This is what I believe in,” Stadtlander
said in an interview after his
keynote address at the Grey Granite
Club.
“You really taste the landscape. You
can really relate to it.”
Sticking to his belief that excellent
food starts with great ingredients,
Stadtlander raises pigs, ducks, chickens,
lambs and trout on his eastern
Grey County farm. He also grows vegetables,
grains and spices, both in outdoor
gardens and a large greenhouse.
Stadtlander solidified his reputation
as one of the country’s top chefs during
more than a decade of cooking at
high-end restaurants in Toronto.
He moved to his Eigensinn Farm on
the Grey-Simcoe county boundary in
1993, where he serves eight-course dinners
to small parties.
Construction is now well underway
on Stadtlander’s new restaurant. Constructed
with local materials, including
limestone donated from The Block and
Stone Resource Group from their quarry
near Mar, the small restaurant will
serve 100 per cent local food, he said.
Saturday’s pay-what-you-can feast
was organized to shine a spotlight on
the variety of products grown and produced
in Grey-Bruce and the benefits of
eating local goods.
“The importance of eating local food
is to be healthy and to be safe and to
support local farmers and businesses,”
said Rocky Raccoon Cafe owner and
chef Robin Pradhan, who initiated the
inaugural event.
About 1,000 people feasted on donated,
locally grown meats and produce,
prepared by six local chefs.
It served as a fundraiser for the yearold
Grey Bruce Agricultural and Culinary
Association, which promotes farmers,
food processors, retailers and
restaurants that sell and serve local
food. The association manages the website
foodlinkgreybruce.com and produces
a culinary map of Grey-Bruce.
Association spokeswoman Lynda Orman
said eating locally produced food
reconnects consumers with the farmers
who grow the ingredients. It also supports
the local economy and ensures
farmers receive a fair price for their
products, she said.
“We’re so blessed in Grey-Bruce that
we have such a diversity and wealth of
food grown here,” she said.
Stadtlander said it is his hope that
businesses that produce and sell local
food flourish and the eat-local movement
continues to gain momentum.
People should support small, local
farms by shopping at farmers’ markets
and encouraging local grocery stores to
carry local meats and produce, he said.
“I don’t like to see huge conglomerates
taking over small farms,” he said.
Saturday’s feast featured meats from
Stoney Keppel Bison near Hepworth,
Stoneyfield Elk Farm near Meaford,
Pheasant Hill Farm near Owen Sound,
Akiwenzie Fish near Wiarton, West
Grey Premium Beef near Durham and
Forsyth Farms near Wiarton, which
provided lamb.
The meal also included locally made
wine, coffee, breads, pie, ice cream,
chocolate and maple syrup and locally
produced vegetables, garlic, apples,
honey, grains and spices.
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