Edible Rhody Spring 2011 : Page 4

notable edibles By Genie M C Pherson Trevor & Christine Chitnis Congratulations to our Edible Communities 2011 Local Hero Award winners! A big thanks to our Rhody readers who voted for the chefs who fed us, the artisans that tempted us, the farmers who produced flavorful foods and the nonprofits that effected change in our food community. Online voting for 2012 begins in September at ediblerhody.com. Chef/Restaurant Matt Gennuso, Chez Pascal, Providence Matt Gennuso’s nose-to-tail, farm-centric seasonal philosophy is the foundation of a French-inspired cooking style that he has been fine-tuning for the past 15 years. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America, followed by stints in kitchens of Paul Bertolli and Danny Meyer, among others, Providence is lucky to have lured the talented chef, and his wife and business partner, Kristen, who opened their restaurant on Hope Street in 2003. Since then eaters have been flocking to Chez Pascal for house-made charcuterie, slow-roasted duck (which would stir a revolt were it taken off the menu), Market Menu Mondays (inspired and sourced from Saturday’s local farmers’ markets) and of course the annual tomato dinner (a sensational seasonal tomato in every course), all of which celebrate and elevate food from area farms. “I really enjoy working with farmers, many who’ve become friends. I think we have a mutual respect for the similarities in our work—it’s hard but there’s the love of what we do that goes beyond any mon-etary considerations.” Driven by desire to use the whole hog, the chef can also be found behind the wheel of Hewtin’s Dogs Mobile, Gennuso’s red and white, sausage-filled food truck that travels the streets of Prov-idence emblazoned with his credo, “If it ain’t in a casing, it isn’t worth tasting.” chez-pascal.com Farmer/Farm Ann Marie & Kevin Bouthillette Blackbird Farm, Smithfield Ann Marie Bouthillette is a farmer with integrity and intensity, both of which guide her practices in managing a herd of over 70 Black Angus cattle, developing relationships with local chefs and navigat-ing the sustainable marketplace. She and her husband, Kevin, main-tain an open invitation to Blackbird Farm to educate those who serve their pasture-raised beef. Those educated chefs will tell you that the Bouthillettes care deeply for each cow and calf on their 100-acre property. “We are extremely careful in the way we handle the animals and when we process them,” says Ann Marie. “Each one gets our in-dividual attention. It’s funny how other Black Angus breeders [even in the West] are starting to pay attention to what we’re doing—like how we use a Temple Grandin chute system [in Athol, Massachu-setts] for processing and how we are breeding our animals.” The average cow weighs in at 1,800 pounds, on a diet that is 95% grass and the remainder grain that the Bouthillettes mix them-selves. Ann Marie says the grain adds to the flavor and careful breed-ing is what accounts for the overall consistency of their beef. It’s also what has produced of a legion of loyal chefs—and eaters too. blackbirdfarmri.com 4 spring 2011 EDIBLERHODY.COM Left photo: David Dadekian; Right photo: Chip Reigel

Notable Edibles

Genie MCPherson Trevor & Christine Chitnis

Congratulations to our Edible Communities 2011 Local Hero Award winners! A big thanks to our Rhody readers who voted for the chefs who fed us, the artisans that tempted us, the farmers who produced flavorful foods and the nonprofits that effected change in our food community. Online voting for 2012 begins in September at ediblerhody.com. Farmer/Farm Ann Marie & Kevin Bouthillette Blackbird Farm, Smithfield Ann Marie Bouthillette is a farmer with integrity and intensity, both of which guide her practices in managing a herd of over 70 Black Angus cattle, developing relationships with local chefs and navigating the sustainable marketplace. She and her husband, Kevin, maintain an open invitation to Blackbird Farm to educate those who serve their pasture-raised beef. Those educated chefs will tell you that the Bouthillettes care deeply for each cow and calf on their 100- acre property. "We are extremely careful in the way we handle the animals and when we process them," says Ann Marie. "Each one gets our individual attention. It's funny how other Black Angus breeders [even in the West] are starting to pay attention to what we're doing–like how we use a Temple Grandin chute system [in Athol, Massachusetts] for processing and how we are breeding our animals." The average cow weighs in at 1,800 pounds, on a diet that is 95% grass and the remainder grain that the Bouthillettes mix themselves. Ann Marie says the grain adds to the flavor and careful breeding is what accounts for the overall consistency of their beef. It's also what has produced of a legion of loyal chefs–and eaters too. blackbirdfarmri.com Left photo: David Dadekian; Right photo: Chip Reigel Chef/Restaurant Matt Gennuso, Chez Pascal, Providence Matt Gennuso's nose-to-tail, farm-centric seasonal philosophy is the foundation of a French-inspired cooking style that he has been fine-tuning for the past 15 years. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America, followed by stints in kitchens of Paul Bertolli and Danny Meyer, among others, Providence is lucky to have lured the talented chef, and his wife and business partner, Kristen, who opened their restaurant on Hope Street in 2003. Since then eaters have been flocking to Chez Pascal for housemade charcuterie, slow-roasted duck (which would stir a revolt were it taken off the menu), Market Menu Mondays (inspired and sourced from Saturday's local farmers' markets) and of course the annual tomato dinner (a sensational seasonal tomato in every course), all of which celebrate and elevate food from area farms. "I really enjoy working with farmers, many who've become friends. I think we have a mutual respect for the similarities in our work–it's hard but there's the love of what we do that goes beyond any monetary considerations." Driven by desire to use the whole hog, the chef can also be found behind the wheel of Hewtin's Dogs Mobile, Gennuso's red and white, sausage-filled food truck that travels the streets of Providence emblazoned with his credo, "If it ain't in a casing, it isn't worth tasting." chez-pascal.com Food Artisan Jim Williams, Seven Stars Bakery, Providence Is it the durum round with its soft, chewy, golden interior and crunchy nut-brown crust? Is it the savory pumpkin seed bread that you wait for each autumn? Whatever your obsession at Seven Stars Bakery, it's clear that a deeper passion goes into the making of the bread for artisan baker Jim Williams. Since coming to Rhode Island 10 years ago to assist friend and future wife Lynn (also a baker) in starting a bakery, Williams has been spreading the gospel of good bread, manifested by the baker's trinity– method, manipulation and fermentation. "I'm trying to constantly evolve by baking better bread, never forgetting where I started and how I can improve," says Williams. Seven Stars began with a Spanish Llopis oven in the original store on Hope Street but keeping up with demand meant moving the production offsite to Pawtucket. Now stainless ovens imported from Sweden and France, plus additional staff, support three retail cafés, wholesale accounts and farmers' markets. In order to stay connected to his craft amid the myriad distractions of business ownership, each Thursday Williams creates a different bread made from start to finish entirely by his own hands. It's available to customers after 2pm. Williams blogs about it at sevenstarsbakery. blogspot.com. Nonprofit Organization Southside Community Land Trust, Providence When Providence faced an economic recession in the early '80s, a group of concerned citizens saw a rare opportunity to purchase cheap parcels of vacant land, with the hope of creating space for community gardens. Thirty years later, over 700 urban gardeners tend their plots on Southside Community Land Trust (SCLT) land, and countless school children experience the "outdoor classroom" at City Farm, a ¾-acre urban farm in the heart of the south side of Providence. In addition, a new generation of farmers is learning the trade at Urban Edge Farm, a 50-acre plot in Cranston, managed by SCLT. The organization also provides access to educational programming and resources to teach people how to increase their urban food production through gardening, composting and even raising a flock of backyard chickens. "For the past three decades," says executive director Katherine Brown (below), "SCLT has been doing exactly what its name states: converting land into spaces that people can trust will not only be there for a long time, but will also serve as safe centers for growing both food and community." – CC southsideclt.org Beverage Artisan Yacht Club Bottling Works, Centerdale, North Providence The century-old recipe for birch beer soda, still kept on an old slip of paper, was handed down from the founders of Yacht Club Soda to John Sgambato in 1960, when he and his son Bill bought the Centerdale bottling company from the Sharp family. John Sgambato had been working there since the '30s; Bill (the current owner) began at Yacht Club in his early teens. Today Bill and his sons John (middle) and Michael (right) run the 96- year-old company (purveyors of the official carbonated beverage of Rhode Island) and they still make sodas and sparkling waters the old-fashioned way, bottled and sold in glass bottles (in local stores, restaurants and at their small plant). They use real cane sugar, mix their own 33 different flavors including cream soda, root beer, sarsaparilla, ginger beer, orange, grape and even quinine (tonic). Their artesian well draws clear clean water (that never needs salt) through 90 feet of granite bedrock. yachtclubsoda.com

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