Fork to Farmer collaborated with Chef Katie Button and Thomas Brody, creating a video highlighting the relationship between small farms and restaurants in Buncombe County.
Chef Katie Button at Nightbell and Tom Brody at Rise Up Rooted Farm discuss their business partnership. Photo by People-first Tourism
An initiative of the NC Cooperative Extension and P1t (People-First tourism) Lab, Fork to Farmer aims to entice the public to eat at local restaurants and visit the farms that supply them.
Fork to Farmer said the “film highlights the mutual love of fresh, organic, local food by a small-scale organic vegetable farmer and the Asheville chef and rising culinary star who supports his efforts through a business partnership.”
Tom Brody runs Rise Up Rooted Farm and River Camp and provides local produce to Heirloom Hospitality Group’s two Asheville restaurants. “What I’m doing here is growing on a small scale in a very intimate way,” Brody says.
People-first Tourism is offering farm experiences for spring 2017 at Rise Up Rooted.
At Cúrate, Chef Button merges imported Spanish ingredients with local meat and produce. At Nightbell, her small plates feature an ever-changing array of the area’s best quality ingredients.
For the video, Fork to Farmer filmed scenes at Nightbell showing Chef Katie Button creating dishes using locally-produced ingredients. The video opens at Rise Up Rooted Farm and, additionally, features interviews with the farmer and chef about why the business partnership is important.
Chef Katie Button creates seasonal dishes at Nightbell. Pictured here: radishes from Rise Up Rooted Farm, lightly grilled, with local butter and lemon herb salt. Photo by @chefkatiebutton on Instagram
“It creates respect,” Chef Button says in the video. Her use of local products cultivates a respect for the farmer, the dish, and the environment. When something is grown locally, it means more to the chef and the guest ordering the plate at the restaurant. The food becomes a compelling story beyond a meal.
In Buncombe county, chefs are fortunate to have many local farmers and food producers. Local and seasonal products are varied and plentiful, with amazing quality. You can taste the results at Nightbell and Cúrate.
Watch the video, which was produced by P1t Lab and See It All Media with the support of NC Cooperative Extension:
