The concept of Farm to Fork has gained popularity in recent years. Many believe that this is due to its green approach, whereby chefs and cooks only harvest and serve a variety of organic seasonal fruits and vegetables that are found within their local areas, or are only grown on-site. They do this to ensure guests enjoy only the freshest, in-season quality items around. Many chefs even go the extra mile and ensure that any meat or fish used in their dishes comes from a humane, free-ranged local farm.
Around the world, top-notch restaurants have sat up and paid attention to this, and you’ll find many of them are employing this sustainable food method, ensuring you, the guest, receive only the best and freshest* meals:
- The Herbfarm Restaurant, Woodinville, Seattle, America
The Salish tribes saying of “When the tide is out, the table is set” is a nice way to sum up this delightful restaurant that never fails to please visitors with seasonal offerings sourced from farms, forests, and the sea. The Herbfarm offers guests a chance to join in on the celebration of wines and foods that originate in the Pacific Northwest, and as such, they serve a set nine-course dinner with wines to compliment it, daily.
Before supper, there are Garden Tours which begin around 18:30, along with a wine tour. The foods used are sourced from local farms, cheese makers, fisheries, foragers, and wineries in order to support the surrounding businesses and provide guests with local delicacies. Those who stay-over can choose to enjoy the 24-hour Herbfarm experience – it starts at 8am and guests will assist garden staff in harvesting the day’s food for the restaurant. There will be a quick break for lunch with the garden staff, and then you’ll make your food delivery to the restaurant. After this, you can laze around the property or your room until you head down for the evening 9-course meal.
- Babylonstoren, Franschhoek, South Africa
Set in the picturesque French Corner of the Western Cape, Babylonstoren offers restaurant visitors and hotel guests a chance to enjoy their home-grown foods and a wander through their magical 8-acre garden. There is a prickly pear maze, over 300 varieties of plants, (all of which are edible) along with sections quartered off for bee hives, chickens, ducks, and donkeys.
Bookings for this are essential, and tours are offered daily from 09:00 – 17:00, with an entrance fee of R10. Lunch is served Wednesday to Sunday, and dinner is available on Friday and Saturday evenings only. Their Green House also doubles as a tea room and offers a variety of reasonable teas and light meals for those who’ve done a walking tour of the garden.
- Otahuna Lodge, New Zealand
Apart from offering beautiful lodgings to visitors, and the finest example of Queen Anne architecture in Australasia, Otahuna Lodge in Christchurch, is also known for its delightful seasonal offerings. The on-site restaurant provides a 5-course meal and wine pairings, using foods that are locally produced, along with seasonal items from their potager garden. Guests even have the option of accompanying the chef to the garden to select their fresh evening meal ingredients! They also have several other sculpted gardens on-site, such as the beautiful Dutch garden.
There are a variety of beautiful gardens on-site, but the potager garden is the star here. It offers a very large range of plant species, and also incorporates an orchard, a chicken coop, a greenhouse, and a root cellar. For the hotel guests wishing to brush up on their culinary talent, up to 10 guests can enjoy a three-hour cooking class with Executive Chef Jimmy McIntyre, who will give a full “potager to plate” experience.
*Please bear in mind you should only be enjoying farm to fork foods at recommended establishments, to cut out the risk of possible food contamination.
Let us know what Farm to Fork foods you’ve enjoyed most, and if you’ll be starting your own vegetable garden anytime soon.
Main image courtesy of Heathmankirkland (Flickr)
