ROCK’N CHEF KAABOO 2016 winner and native San Diegan, Chef Steve Brown recently returned to his hometown of Imperial Beach, California to launch an exciting new multi-level restaurant concept, The Shipping Yard. While his restaurant project is under construction, Chef Brown has also launched a series of multi-course farm driven meals and wine pairing pop-up events, entitled Cosecha, which are taking place from San Diego to Los Angeles.
Has working & developing relationships with local farmers changed the way you cook?
Working with farmers has changed philosophy on food in general. As a young cook and culinary student they never spoke about where the food came from it was just all about the final product once it hit the plate and what we did to get it there. When I started working as executive sous chef for Jake Rojas at The Inn of the Seventh Ray in Los Angeles in 2007 it changed my entire outlook on sourcing our product – we would source about 70% of our produce from the Santa Monica farmers market. My West Hollywood restaurant was 100% sourced from the Santa Monica and Hollywood farmers markets, which was very ambitious, but as far as I’m concerned the only way.
Fresh produce from Wild Willow Farms.Returning to my hometown of Imperial Beach to open The Shipping Yard, I have partnered up with Wild Willow Farm. At my recent pop-up dinner at Gustatory in Coronado I saw the high demand and need for a chef-driven concept on the Crown Island. Set to open as early as October 2016, I’ll be taking over a preexisting location there where I will present a modern public house concept with reimagined standard pub fare. Wild Willow Farm and I are collaborating on creating a memorable menu going beyond the farm-to-table movement into something truly remarkable and creating a model for my future restaurants in San Diego. The farm has even dedicated growing space specifically for each of my restaurant concepts. For me, the ability to support a local farm and farm school, while taking the local food movement to the next level, is a dream come true. We kicked off this partnership with a five-course classy-rustic farm-centric dinner in the Wild Willow growing fields back in August, which featured produce grown on the farm specifically for this dinner – mere feet from where it grew.
Cosecha Farm Dinner Series at Wild Willow Farms, California.
Chef Steve Brown at Wild Willow Farm in San Diego, California.What was the inspiration behind your farm-driven roving dinner series, Cosecha?
Celebrating the local sustainable food movement and the people that make it happen. We are shooting the tour as a documentary showcasing each community and what they do.
What do you think the role of the chef is in influencing everyday food culture?
The role of a Chef is so important, especially today’s chefs who are looked at as local, national and global celebrities and role models. It’s not only our responsibility to educate the community about locally sourcing sustainable, healthy ingredients but I take it even farther in that we should lead by example and lead healthy life styles as a whole. I absolutely hate the ‘Fat Chef’ stereotype. If any one should be eating the healthy vegetables it’s us because we should know how to make everything taste good. At my West Hollywood restaurant I had a Runyon Brunch Club where 50 guests would meet me at the restaurant at 8 a.m. on Sundays for a one and half hour hike returning for brunch. I plan on doing something similar in Imperial Beach, like a Beach Run Brunch where attendees receive 15% off.
You directly base your menus off of the “Harvest” of our local farms, what produce are you most looking forward to working with this fall?
Ingredients. That’s what I’m looking forward to using this fall/winter! Really just what looks good at the farm but I’m a big fan of winter squash, yams oh… and in the later months of Heirloom tomatoes!! A Cherokee tomato in November is much better than a Cherokee in July! The opportunity to have my own farm space at a local non-profit farm and school, where every single seed is put in the ground for the right reasons, is amazing and really just the way it should be. The ability to have your produce grown specifically for your restaurant 3 miles away – speechless!
About Wild Willow Farm:
Located at 2550 Sunset Avenue in San Diego, California Wild Willow Farm & Education Center is a not-for-profit farm and food-growing hub, where eaters of all ages come to learn how to garden and farm, become exposed to the philosophy of building healthy, rich, living soil, and gather with other local-food enthusiasts. Wild Willow uses cutting-edge, ethical growing methods that go above and beyond the organic standards, practicing sustainable and regenerative agriculture. This means they are actively working to improve the soil, the landscape, and the biodiversity of the land it stewards. It is these practices that give the produce grown at Wild Willow Farm produce such robust flavor profiles and vitality that is unmatched.
Learn more about Chef Steve Brown at his WEBSITE and CHEF’S ROLL PROFILE.
