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Boutwell FarmsFromagerie Belle ChevreFudge Family FarmJones Valley Urban FarmMcEwen and Sons Farm
Michael Dean FarmsPetals from the PastSnow's Bend FarmLocal Farmers Markets 

By Jan Walsh
How many times have you heard or read chefs say they start with the freshest ingredients? For many of Birmingham’s chef driven restaurants the phrase itself may not be all that fresh, but it is true.

Local products are grown for flavor, not for shipping durability. So you can’t compare the flavor of a tomato grown for shipping purposes and picked out of state to a fresh, dead ripe Blount County tomato eaten at its peak. The same is true for heirloom tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables. “Everything is at its absolute peak once it is cut. Then the clock starts ticking,” local organic grower Michael Dean, of Michael Dean Farms, explains. “Squash blossoms, for example, are the most fragile and only remain open for stuffing for one day. Our carrots are mega sweet and packed with sugar that begins to oxidize as soon as you pull it out of the ground or cut it. And micro lettuces are fragile with a premium shelf life. Thus fragility and freshness precludes shipping vegetables long distances.” Dean is one local farmer who delivers to Birmingham area restaurants. Many other pick up trucks are also found delivering fresh, organic lettuces, carrots, corn, meats, pork and an array of fruits to the restaurants’ back doors. Chefs also shop local farmers markets where their favorite vendors have fresh pickings waiting for them.

And for lunch or dinner, these fresh ingredients are prepared by chefs in dishes using their own recipes and served to diners, often the same day they are picked or the following day. Buying and eating local products improves your health, creates and supports local jobs and reduces the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

Fromagerie Belle Chèvre
Located in Elkmont, Fromagerie Belle Chèvre creamery has produced a variety of fine artisanal chèvres since 1989, using time-tested European farmstead techniques. The all-natural, handmade cheeses have won numerous awards from the American Cheese Society and American Dairy Association. The creamery gives waste products to local farmers and uses recyclable boxes.

Alabama native and owner of Belle Chèvre Tasia Malakasis first discovered Belle Chèvre while shopping at Dean and Deluca’s flagship store in New York City. “It was fateful, I believe, that out of all of the grand cheeses in that store I would pick up one from a creamery that is just 20 miles from my hometown in Alabama,” Malakasis recalls. “And it was love at first bite.” Malakasis’ passion for food and love affair with Belle Chèvre eventually led her to give up a successful career in high tech marketing software and purchase the creamery.

Malakasis evolved the familiar branding of a baby blue label to a more colorful, fun and friendly style, reflective of her own style. She also evolved the packaging. Among the products is Fromage Blanc, the freshest goat cheese. Montrachet Style Logs with herbs are sold in three sizes. Chèvre de Provence are medallions in extra virgin olive oil with herbs. Tuscan Chèvre has extra virgin olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes. And Confetti is goat cheese crumbles.

Fromagerie Belle Chèvre products are also sold locally at Bruno’s, Oak Street Local Market, Piggly Wiggly, Tria Market, Western Supermarkets and Whole Foods Market. They are also available at bellechevre.com.

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Boutwell Farms
Boutwell Farms is a small, sustainable certified organic family farm located in Abbeville, selling direct to local families and restaurants. They offer grass-fed beef, pasteurized pork and other seasonal products, such as wheat, oats, corn, eggs, fruits, nuts and berries.

“We are the only facility in Alabama that can legally harvest beef cattle and sell commercially to the public,” Melissa Boutwell says.

Boutwell Beef is flavor-filled, nutrientdense, tender beef because the cows enjoy sunshine as they are grass fed.

The farm also offers nutritious, pastured pink pork. “Pork is not the other white meat,” Melissa Boutwell explains. “Pork is a red meat by classification, and the lowest USDA grade pork is white.” Retail products available on their website include a half hog pork combo, a quarter cow, beefsteaks, pork steaks and chops and premium ground beef.

Boutwell Farms discourages shipping their products because it is not sustainable. Instead they post on their website pick up dates for one day each week that they will be in Birmingham. They also produce their own fuels for both production and delivery in order to be self-sufficient and not dependent on foreign oil.

They focus on a year-round balance of products that can be produced for fuel and used for food on the farm.

Visit boutwellfarms.com for more information.

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Fudge Family Farms
Fudge Family Farms is located in Madison. By breeding Duroc pigs with Berkshire pigs, Henry Fudge has created a line of hogs that have incredible marbling, tenderness and flavor. “We began in 1971 preserving the old type, naturally outdoor adapted Duroc breed of hog and haven’t introduced any outside genetics since the late 1970s,” Fudge explains.

“These heritage bloodline Durocs are, to my knowledge, the only ones of their type in existence today.”

In 2006 Fudge began to locate other small farmers in Alabama and Tennessee to help raise the Heritage Durocs blended with old type Berkshires. And he now has 20 coproducers, most of whom are Amish families. “We never use any antibiotics or added hormones, and feed only plant derived feed. All our animals live outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine with access to forage,” Fudge says. The new mothers are provided an area large enough to turn around and make a nest, just like nature intended. “We believe that healthy, happy hogs make healthy meat,” he says. Fudge pork can be found at V. Richards.

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Jones Valley Urban Farm
Jones Valley Urban Farm is a nonprofit project that promotes sustainable agriculture and alternative landuse.

The project started in 2001 as an experiment by Page Allison and Edwin Marty to transform vacant land in downtown Birmingham into production organic farmland. They started their first lot in Southside by developing a job-training project with the YWCA. In the first summer, they sold their produce at the Pepper Place Farmers Market and to local restaurants.

The following year, JVUF added two more sites for organic production.

Currently, three vacant lots have been reclaimed and converted into production, growing fruits, vegetables and flowers through the help of neighbors, high school students and volunteers. Locations include the Southside Farm at 2319 10th Ave. S., East Avondale Community Garden at Third Avenue South and 47th Street, and Gardens of Park Place at Seventh Avenue North and 25th Street.

This urban farm is also an important community resource providing educational and economic opportunities in an urban setting. Among them are an accredited high school science course in conjunction with the Alabama School of Fine Arts and a nutrition-based field trip called Seed 2 Plate.

Customers can buy fresh produce or grow their own vegetables on individual plots. Jones Valley Urban Farm products are available on Saturdays at Pepper Place Market from May through September, 7 a.m. to noon. They also sell their products at their Gardens of Park Place location at Seventh Avenue North and 25th Street from May through August.

Check their calendar for dates and times as well as for classes open to the public at jvuf.org.

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McEwen and Sons
The McEwen family—Frank, Helen, Frank Jr. and Luke—owns and operates McEwen and Sons. On their stone burr grist mill at their Coosa Valley Milling Company in Wilsonville, the McEwens’ mill organic corn into grits and polenta as well as yellow, white and blue cornmeal.

Their organic whole grain meal has no synthetic nutrients or chemical additives. They smell sweet and fresh and are full of flavor. And they produce organic, farm-raised eggs from cage-free hens that are fed only natural feed that contains no antibiotics, hormones or animal protein.

The McEwen grain products are found at Piggly Wiggly in Crestline and Homewood, Tria Market and V. Richards, and their eggs are available at V. Richards. Their products are also available at their store at Coosa Valley milling at 30620 Alabama Highway 25 South in Wilsonville and at their booth at Pepper Place Market. Visit coosavalleymilling.com for more information.

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Michael Dean Farms
Michael and Lindy Dean grow delicate and delicious organic veggies at their Leeds farm. A typical day begins at sunrise, hand-clipping and washing vegetables then spinning them dry in the planting shed’s lettuce machine (a washing machine with only green “laundry”). Afterwards, calls are made to chefs whose orders are not yet confirmed. Dean then makes deliveries to restaurants and specialty markets while Lindy replants and does garden chores.

The Deans specialize in lettuces, baby vegetables and micro lettuces. Their beds include multi-use crops such as pea tendrils—sold as a garnish or addition to lettuce mixes at around 10 to 14 days. The pea tendrils then re-grow into a cover crop, which will feed the soil for the next crop. And the flowers are mighty tasty and make a nice addition to micro blends. The Mizuna and Tatsoi are grown to sell but also serve as trap crops—attracting insects and keeping them from the precious arugula, which is bursting with a spicy, peppery flavor.

The Deans recently bought farm property in Vincent and plan to expand their gardens in the near future with this additional site while continuing to farm at the urban gardens in Leeds. They also plan to build a home using natural building techniques at the Vincent property. Their products are available to the public at Oak Street Local Market in Mountain Brook.

Find more information at deanfarms. com

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Petals From The Past
Horticulturalists Jason and Shelley Powell manage Petals from the Past. They apply contemporary techniques for growing the finest old garden plants along with new varieties.

A variety of fruit plants can be ordered from Petals from the Past’s website, including Asian pear, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, citrus, figs, muscadines, nectarines, peaches, pears, persimmons, plums and pomegranate. Shipping season is September through May. Petals from the Past also offers educational workshops, lectures and demonstrations on growing your own small fruit trees and making jams and jellies as well as guided garden tours (30 to 45 minutes) with catered box lunches. Fields are also open for “u-pick” on various days of the year.

Petals from the Past products such as blackberries, blueberries, muscadines, figs and Japanese persimmons are also available locally at Oak Street Local Market, Pepper Place Market, Tria Market, V. Richards and Pepper Place Market. Visit petalsfromthepast. com for more information.

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Snow’s Bend Farm
Situated on a large bend of the Black Warrior River near Tuscaloosa, Snow’s Bend Farm is owned by David Snow. Lovely orange and yellow carrots, ping-pong ball sized white, red and golden turnips, candy cane beets, leeks and rainbow Swiss chard as well as a multitude of other organic vegetables are available for retail purchase locally at Oak Street Local Market and Pepper Place Market.

Snow also offers community supported agriculture, which is a unique producer/consumer relationship.

Consumers invest in a farm’s harvest at the beginning of the season, which ensures a market for the products and cash flow at the time when most needed.

In exchange, the farm guarantees $15 to $20 worth of the highest-quality produce they have every week throughout the season. Visit snows bendfarm.com for information.

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Local Farmers Markets
Findley Avenue Market is open year-round. Other farmers markets that are open during spring until into fall include East Lake Farmer’s Market, Leeds Market, Oak Street Local Market, Park Place Market at Linn Park, Pepper Place and Trussville Market.

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November Birmingham, Alabama

  

 
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