In the somewhat big business model that Bon Appétit works in , we value relationships with suppliers as a true partnership. Especially with the smaller, local, non-corporate types like our farmers, ranchers and artisans. The cultures are very different and we work hard at understanding each other. We forgive when them the strawberries come in […]
Diverse Groups Working on Sustainability
The community of people who care about our food supply is growing by leaps and bounds. I think we are approaching an important "tipping point." Over the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to two groups of people who one might not traditionally think of as food activists. The first was Net […]
Great Article in the NY Times!
Today’s New York Times includes a special section on small businesses with a cover story on companies involved in local food. The writer, Kim Severson, was a food writer in San Francisco for years and crossed paths with Bon Appetit many times. I’ve heard her speak and always been impressed with her knowledge about food […]
Make No “Canned” Beans About It
I have in my office a stack of #10 canned green beans. Almost every time Bon Appetit CEO Fedele Bauccio walks by, I get a somewhat of a humorous pestering as to “why does my culinary director have canned foods in his office. It’s not us!” But, these cans intrigue me. The beans are grown […]
How Green is Midwest Shrimp?
In a large unheated shed with two rotating fans and a few dim fluorescent lights, Bob Calala runs Ohio’s only shrimp nursery, 20 miles west of Oberlin amid corn fields, red barns and vast expanses of flat land. For years this area has been hog territory; now, family farmers are growing more shrimp and fewer […]
Local vs Locale
Bon Appetit CEO Fedele Bauccio serves on the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production. The group met in San Francisco last week and Director of Culinary Support & Development Marc Zammit and I had the opportunity to present. The subject of our talk was the barriers to "sustainability" for large food service companies. Marc […]
Great Review – In Many Ways
Minneapolis’s City Pages published a review of our restaurant Cue at the Guthrie Theater that is one of the most interesting restaurant reviews I’ve ever read. Not only does author Dara Moskowitz critique Chef Lenny Russo’s food, she touches on the organic vs. local debate and the history of the Guthrie in Minneapolis.
Washington Post Article
The cover story of today’s Washington Post business section is a great story entitled "A Growing Trend: Small, Local and Organic: Popularity of Farmers Markets, Natural Grocery Stores Helps Cultivate a Rise in Niche Farms" The piece mentions several Bon Appetit accounts including American University, Gallaudet University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Georgetown University […]
Talking Turkey, I Mean Fish
Last week was exceptionally busy outside the office. On Monday, I lectured in a joint undergraduate-MBA evening seminar for University of San Francisco’s sustainable business program on what an environmentally responsible seafood procurement policy would look like and the factors that go into the decision to develop one. I was challenged on a number of […]
A Place At the Table
I’ve just returned from my first meeting as a member of the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Round Table. This is a volunteer group of scientist, faculty members, business leaders with a variety of individuals from our industry, all of whom share a like-minded focus on advocating good nutrition. The Round Table is chaired […]