I believe sharing meals with friends and family should be a celebration of being healthy and alive, and by supporting local farmers, sustainable agriculture, and environmentally-friendly products, we honor the earth and ourselves. Plus, sometimes all it takes is just a few special ingredients to make a dish pop with flavor.
Whether it’s edible flowers from Seabreeze Organic Farm or the sweetest jams and jellies from McFadden Ranch, San Diego is brimming with organic possibilities that enable us to live off the land, and shop and cook like a top chef at home.
Juany and Phil Noble, operators of Sage Mountain Farms, offer a treasure of fruits and vegetables while maintaining a “farming in the wilderness” philosophy using pure organic guidelines to raise steer, chickens, pigs, and goats away from all conventional-type farms. Crows Pass Farm, operated by David and Tina Barnes, offers a variety of unique culinary ingredients including multiple varieties of beans, figs, colorful beets, mushroom drops, and passion fruit.
“Excellence” is the single foundation for ChileCo’s success as a premier green caterer of Southern California, serving San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties for over seven years. “In my opinion, organic is better for the earth and the individual, but most importantly when it comes to the epicurean philosophy, it just makes the food taste better,” says executive chef and owner Scott Wagner. “Just like everything else in life, it’s what you put into your cuisine that determines the outcome.”
Wagner, whose culinary standards begin with organic and locally-grown produce, sustainable fishing and aquaculture, naturally raised livestock and poultry, and artisan crafted kitchen staples, likes to shop at Sage Mountain Farms for mixed greens, Beck Grove for citrus, “especially the kumquats,” and Schaner Farms for herbs and heirloom tomatoes. “Tomatoes should be balanced between sweetness and acidity with full red color,” says Wagner. “Hot house and commercial tomatoes are flavorless and pale as albino chinchilla.”
Executive chef David Warner of JRDN restaurant in Tower23 likes to shop at Crows Pass Farm in Temecula for local, organic produce. “The products coming from this farm are grown without pesticides, antibiotics, or irradiation, and can make it from the ground to our restaurant in less than a day,” says Warner. “Beyond the health and environmental considerations, this food simply tastes better.”
Warner considers Crows Pass owners David and Tina as true partners in his kitchen. “In fact, when they drop off produce, they also pick up vegetable scrap. This scrap returns to the farm to be used as compost,” continues Warner. “In this way, we’re not just consuming, but also contributing to the future harvest and ensuring the best product hits our guests’ plates.”
Other great organic shopping options include La Milpa Organica Farm in Escondido, which delivers to local restaurants and sells at farmers’ markets in San Diego. Sun Organic Farm in San Marcos ships organic food, organic nuts, and organic fruits all year round, and the renowned Chino Farms in Rancho Santa Fe is a great roadside stop for superior-quality in-season fruits and vegetables. MARIA DESIDERATA MONTANA
