The Chef's Garden Helps Out Chicago Restaurateur

With the endless details and decisions involved in designing the restaurant, kitchen, and menu, Chef Curtis Duffy, proprietor of Grace, followed in the footsteps of great chefs with whom he’s worked to take the time before opening night for menu development at The Chef's Garden.

 

“I brought the team out from Grace to start our menu development, reconnect with all the vegetables and herbs that The Chef’s Garden grows, and remind them where the product comes from,” Duffy said.

 

“We are always elated to have our chefs come visit us here at the farm,” said Farmer Lee Jones, owner of The Chef’s Garden. “If the chef working alone equals one and the farmer working alone equals one, the symbiotic energy of working together is the power of six.  This kind of visit allows us to understand chefs’ specific needs and share what we can provide. Tying it all together is just incredibly powerful.”  

 

The group started their visit with a presentation of experimental vegetables, herbs and greens. “We were able to taste and give feedback to the growers, and they asked us what we would use the product for. The dialogue is inspirational,” said Duffy.

 

They toured and tasted their way through the farm’s greenhouses, research laboratory and packing facilities. Then they were ready to get their hands dirty. Chef Duffy and his crew harvested beans, potatoes, tomatoes and pineapple tomatillos – a favorite that made its way into dessert later that evening.

 

After gaining an appreciation for the hard work involved in getting the ingredients from our earth to the kitchen, the team experimented with the ingredients they’d tasted and harvested throughout the day. With new flavors swirling in their minds and on their tastebuds, the experience sparked some fresh ideas that the team can continue to refine as they create the menu at Grace.

 

Farmer Jones has high expectations as well. “Based on Chef Duffy’s past experience combined with his own brilliance, creativity and imagination, and then add the exceptional team he has chosen, and of course including The Chef’s garden as a small part of that team, I believe he will heighten fine dining to a fun level of sophistication, exquisiteness and playful creativity.”

 

Learn more about The Chef's Garden here.