EDMONTON – Mario Mathieu, executive chef at one of Edmonton’s toniest restaurants, says he would give up his favorite cooking pot to buy fresh vegetables. If a farmer offered him a steady supply of organic vegetables, he’d be over the moon.
“I have a line up of six million people willing to sell me cheese, but vegetables, I cannot find anyone who can give me a constant supply,” said Mathieu.
In the summer, he needs 90 kilograms of carrots a week in his Hotel MacDonald restaurant.
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“I’m willing to pay a premium. I’m not talking organic product, just local, quality produce.”
Diners in Mathieu’s high-end restaurant are willing to pay extra for organic food. Chicken sales fell 40 percent when he dropped the Alberta-raised, free-range chickens from his menu over the winter.
His customers don’t mind paying an extra 30 to 50 percent for organic chicken, beef or lamb and Mathieu doesn’t mind paying farmers a premium for it.
Demand for organic
Natural or organic food is a growing market. He said six hotel customers fill out guest comment cards every day asking for more organic food on the menu.
“I need to find a way to bridge the gap between the field and the receiving door at the hotel,” Mathieu told about 300 people at Going Organic, Alberta’s largest organic conference held here recently.
But he doesn’t want a farmer to stop by the back door with the promise of a few lambs.
“I’ll get a call from an organic lamb producer who has 22 lambs now … and I say, ‘Your lamb will make a good special tonight … but we serve 25,000 people a month,’ ” he said.
“One thing you never, ever do is just show up. I’m not doing business with anyone who walks into my kitchen with lamb or jam.”
Mathieu said he would also guarantee a short career to any producer who promises a steady supply and can’t deliver.
“You can be assured you won’t be doing business next year or with anyone I know. If you want to do business with the hotel, be ready to play the game.”
