Food Guidelines of the Herbfarm

This morning I was checking through my facebook business pages and I ran across "Food Guidelines of the Herbfarm." For those of you who do not live in the Seattle area, "The Herbfarm" is the gold standard of restaurants. I personally believe that we should all be able to make comparable meals at home, so I was excited to see the tenets of their beliefs! Their chefs totally rule!


THEIR BELIEFS:

• No dish can be better than its ingredients and that the best ingredients are usually local! Yeah!
• Chefs who cook with local ingredients develop a more complete understanding of the foods they use and this understanding can give rise to great expressions of the food, its prep and enjoyment.
• Supporting local farmers, foragers, cheesemakers, and fishermen, helps preserve local foods. 

THEIR CREED:

• They will not use products that can only be grown in another climate!
• Foods should only be used in season when they taste better, and if they are not in season should be dried or preserved locally or by the restaurant.
• They should showcase herbs! (I believe herbs are their secret ingredient!)
• Menus should flow in a balanced progression without repeating foods or flavors (translation: lots of variety)
• Menus will delight all.

Well, I started thinking of their beliefs and creed, and imagined a world full of home chefs cooking this way! Don't we all love amazing delicious foods? Why has food developed into something that comes in a bag or box? Are we really that busy? Do we really enjoy those processed salted cardboard foods? Have we lost our ability to taste? Have we really believed advertisers that these fake foods taste great? Why don't we strive to cook delicious foods? I don't know. I do know that fresh foods, full of herbs, are mouthwatering. I deserve to eat this way. I will buy farm fresh local foods this year, grow my own herbs, grow my own specialty lettuce crop in my garage hydroponic set up, and fix delicious fresh local meals!

 The best ingredients do make a difference! Join me this season in cooking organic local farm fresh foods and herbs! Check out your local farmers market or join a CSA this year! Happy Cooking!!!