EDMONTON – Nancy Kindler has seen plenty of farmers’ good food ideas go rancid fast.
The last thing chefs want are farmers waltzing unannounced into their kitchens with a few pots of homemade jam or bits of steak to sell.
An even bigger sin is promising the chef a season’s supply of produce and running out halfway through the month after he printed an expensive menu. It may be OK to scratch off a special in a small town cafŽ, but it’s not done in the fancy restaurants.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
“I warn them, don’t go until you’re totally prepared,” said Kindler, who along with her partner Lori Menshik, operate Full Course Strategies Inc., which brings together farmers, processors and chefs from high-end restaurants.
“We teach them the system because I’ve seen so many of them fail,” Kindler said.
For years chefs told Kindler and Menshik, who both worked in the food retail business, that they wanted to serve local, fresh and unique food.
Their answer was always, “sorry, we don’t do local food.”
Then Kindler realized she could use her restaurant contacts and industry knowledge to bring regional food to local chefs.
“The chefs are screaming for it,” said Menshik.
Winter course
For the last few months, the pair has worked with Alberta Agriculture business development specialist Kerry Engel, teaching farmers and processors how to get their unique food into expensive restaurants and hotel kitchens and keep it there.
Every week over the winter, more than 60 people from farms and abattoirs around Westlock and Athabasca gathered to learn more about creating niche markets.
“It’s not the be-all and end-all for everyone. It’s for the people who want to put the time and energy into marketing their product,” said Engel.
“Direct marketing is not for everyone. It’s very specialized, but there are people it will fit.”
Dennis Ranger of Barrhead Custom Meats said the demand for his pork products has been “unbelievable” since he took the course and started working with Menshik and Kindler.
He now has his specialty pork products in 31 Edmonton area hotels and restaurants.
“I get nothing but compliments,” said Ranger, who was forced to seek niche markets when he could no longer compete with large processors like Maple Leaf and Fletcher’s Fine Foods.
Five Barrhead area farmers supply hogs to his plant and Ranger creates 27 special pork cuts.
What’s unique is that the pigs are about one-third the size of regular slaughter hogs, are fed a special ration, are hormone and antibiotic free, and are free range. It all combines to make a unique product chefs can sell in their restaurants as extra special.
Instead of making regular cuts, Ranger creates unique pork products like cranberry maple smoked boneless ham, double smoked rolled bacon, and pork racks that have been frenched, which is a process that takes the excess meat off the long bone, leaving a pork chop that looks like a mini lamb chop.
“It’s quite a bit more work but it sells for a premium,” said Ranger, who is gearing up for a busy fall when many restaurants are expected to move his pork products from their occasional feature list to the regular menu.
“This fall it will go crazy.”
Demand for unique food is not limited to pork. Kindler and Menshik have a standing order for all the Katahdin sheep they can supply. They figure they need another 60 producers to supply existing demand. Restaurants are willing to pay $28 a kilogram for a Katahdin rack of lamb.
“They say, ‘I’ll buy all that you can give me,’ ” said Menshik of the chefs that are offered the lamb samples.
The animals must be raised following a strict feed and care regime.
“You have to follow the rules and be consistent,” said Menshik.
A recent study showed about 39 cents of a household’s dollar is spent on restaurant food.
Of that, only one percent is spent on regional or local food. If that local food dollar was increased to 10 percent, Kindler estimates it would be a $90 million boost to the local economy.
“That’s how untapped it is.”
