Chefs Collaborative

This is the second of a two-part post talking preservation and sustainability with Chef Brendan McGill of Hitchcock Restaurant on Bainbridge Island, Washington State.

Brendan McGill checks on the progress of an order in the applewood-fired oven at Hitchcock, Bainbridge Island, WA. (Photo: Brad Camp | Kitsap Sun)

Preservation, or what I like to call “pre-refrigeration food storage,” is at the heart of much of what we do at Hitchcock, and it touches every food group at the restaurant from meats to vegetables, dairy, and fruit. So many culinary concepts—cheese, vinegar, pickles, confit, cured meats, and alcohol—were derived from this necessity.

Preserved items from the Hitchcock pantry (Photo: Hitchcock)

As an offshoot of our kombucha program (a popular item at our next door deli, and fun for using to steam shellfish), we began to ferment our own vinegars. We start with an organic Columbia Valley blended red wine, and after a few generations, we can say the starter is our own. It’s a rich, fresh vinegar that makes an excellent mignonette for our oysters. The next elaboration we have planned is to hollow out a cured piece of applewood and torch it like a burnt cask, fill it with vinegar, and allow to age.

We receive a weekly delivery of raw cow and goat’s milk from small local dairies, which we sell at our deli. As soon as we see them getting close to their expiration, we take them into the restaurant kitchen where they make excellent cheeses. Because they haven’t been pasteurized, their natural enzymes curdle the milk when heated without any added citrus or rennet. With these curds, we pull mozzarella, whip up ricotta, or press the ricotta into a “salata” cheese. We’ve had a batch of creme fraiche running for over 2 1/2 years; it started with our organic heavy cream, inoculated with buttermilk culture, which soured over 48 hours at room temp. We then refrigerate it, and use the cream in everything from potato salad to ice cream. When we get down to a few cups, we heat up another gallon of cream and inoculate that with the remainder. The whey that is an inevitable by-product of the whole milk is used to ferment our own whole-grain mustard, which gets a buttery flavor from the slow lactic fermentation that follows its preparation.

Of course, our charcuterie program is a great example of our preservation efforts. Cuts of pork are processed into bacon, dry-cured sausages, pancetta, lonza, prosciutto, and head cheese. Some of these, we’ll enjoy over a year after slaughter; a brilliant extension of piggy’s life.

Charcuterie platter at Hitchcock. (Photo: Hitchcock)

The fruit from the orchard on our farm undergoes the same preservation efforts. We turned over 50 lbs. of pineapple quince into 75 lbs. of carne de membrillo, which we use to garnish cheeses and show up in desserts and alongside foie gras all year. Apples became applesauce and figs were pickled. We also preserved the ground cherries that we bought from Sol Farm. We saved the pith from Eastern Washington watermelons and pickled them. After a few months, we have a citrusy, translucent fruit that few people can identify, and are always surprised to see in January at a Western Washington farm-to-table restaurant.

Since we opened on this island a few years ago, we’ve developed an intimate knowledge of how the seasons roll around here. The bumper crop of sweet and hot peppers on the island inspired us to pickle large amounts two seasons ago, and we made hot sauce in our wood-fired oven from these house-pickled peppers right up until the last crop became available. Tani Creek Farm provided us with a selection of hot peppers, and we’ll never use those dried chili flakes from god-knows-where again. This year, we use some of the hot peppers, along with our dried sole roe, to make a kimchi-style ferment for hardy greens and cabbages. We also invested in a 22-quart hand-turned Polish crock, in which we can ferment 35 lbs. of local, organic cabbage from Laughing Crow Farm. This tangy, fizzy kraut was a game-changer, and allowed us to prepare a classic “choucroute garni,” with our kraut cooked in goose fat rendered from the local whole animals we receive, garnished with our pork charcuteries, and accompanied with our own fermented mustard.

This is the first of a two-part post talking sourcing, sustainability, and inspiration with Chef Brendan McGill of Hitchcock Restaurant on Bainbridge Island, Washington State.

Chef Brendan McGill of Hitchcock Restaurant on Bainbridge Island, Washington State.

What was your introduction to sustainability in the kitchen?

My entire adult cooking career has been in Seattle, so I feel that an undercurrent of sustainability has been part of my general practice in the kitchen from the beginning. Cooking in the Pike Place Market seemed like a way to be very close to producers; the food certainly doesn’t have much of a carbon footprint when you can walk to the stall where a farmer sells their food. In the nineties, we were all idolizing scarcity: foie gras, truffles, tuna from Tsukiji, etc. When I started working directly with farmers, I saw better, fresher product at more attractive prices than it’s “jet fresh” counterpart. Also, there’s a face attached to the food, and a story. I can smile and think warmly of my farmer friends when I’m handling and cooking their produce.

What’s your framework for making sustainable choices on a daily basis?

When I came to Bainbridge it changed everything – no compost service, no deliveries from Frank’s Produce, but lots of small producers willing to deliver personally. The connections that have formed over the last three years have been mind-blowing; our compost goes directly to the farms from which we buy our food, and some of those farmers are helping us make choices regarding our own farming endeavors. We are invited to help select seeds and work on custom farming plans for programs we’ve developed.

To offer an interesting selection of local foods year round, we have to work with farmers to get as much planted as we’ll need. Then we preserve what we must to extend it past its season. Our menu development follows availability, and that availability hinges on plans made a year in advance. It’s a lot different than picking up an order guide and par sheet and strolling through the walk-in with a clipboard, but this is the only way to do what we’re doing, and most likely the only way I’ll do anything from here on out.

We made some choices in the beginning that were somewhat arbitrary – wine from the northwest (WA and OR) and the old world (FR, SP, IT), specifically not from California or Australia. Some of the framework may be silly, but I can sleep at night knowing some bottles floated over on the slow boat, while I’m so proud of Northwest winemaking that I would never offer Californian wine here. There are terroirs in the old world that are so definitive, so essential to enjoying wine, I couldn’t have a wine list and overlook them.

With food it’s more rigorous – we allow for vinegars, olives and olive oil to be imported, and we have citrus from California or Florida, not to mention fresh herbs in the wintertime, celery for stock, etc. We’re working to replace each of those items, but the turnaround on a project such as producing a year’s apple cider vinegar is a big commitment, and doesn’t always work the way you want it to. Every breakthrough feels like a victory; just did a deal to get all of the salt for seasoning and for our fermented foods from the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We’re raw-fermented spring heirloom cabbages from a biodynamic farm three miles away, the only other ingredient being local salt.

Our seafood program is probably our best example for sustainability – only wild fish, only from Neah Bay. With the exception of the sardine runs in Wilapa Bay and Astoria, and possibly the Columbia River for sturgeon. All of our shellfish is producer-direct and from the hood canal or south sound. We’re in a geographically very fortunate position for this.

Why are you a member of Chefs Collaborative?

It’s great to work with like-minded chefs, participate in the events that promote this sort of commerce, and have access to a community with a collective wealth of knowledge and experience.

Can you describe a sustainability challenge you’ve overcome?

The big jug of red chili flakes – all cooks know about this. Who knows where they come from, or exactly what kind of pepper they’re made with. But, it’s how most chefs season a spicy dish. During our long incredible Indian summer last year, the local farms were pumping out a bumper crop of spicy peppers, really cool heirloom varietals. We pickled big buckets of them, which we have been able to draw from throughout the year.

Another great example is our octopus program – I wrote off using the Phillipines product after my Harvest Vine stint. We used Spanish octopus, and after traveling and cooking octopus on a few continents, I re-discovered octopus when we got our first from Neah Bay.

Occasionally a 70 lb. Giant Pacific Octopus ends up in a rockfish net, and the fishermen don’t really know what to do with it. Our fishmonger bought one for us off a dock when he saw it, and it got me thinking… I approached a large-scale seafood distributor about the fishing boats they buy from and if they experience bycatch, and with some coaxing we found a cod boat from the Bering Sea and convinced him to freeze all his octopus bycatch, promising we’d buy whatever he came back with. He returned with 600 lbs. and we’ve been able to stock a freezer full ever since.

Starting out, was there a chef whose career you admired and wanted to imitate? Which chef would you drop everything to stage with?

Starting out, I was a big Thomas Keller fan. Relentless pursuit of perfection, stratospheric standards, etc. These days I’m settling into my own style and feeling a little less idol worship than I used to. I would drop everything to go stage with Magnus Nilsson. I want to go skijoring with him, bag some game birds, carve into some dry-aged moose and try the incredible Swedish lake trout he describes.

What are your five favorite ingredients right now?

Elderflowers, doug fir tips, wild cress, bay laurel blossoms, fiddlehead ferns.

What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring young chefs?

Be prepared to work like a dog for your entire life, but don’t fall into the martyr mode that poisons our industry. Love what you do, so don’t go around being all mad at everybody who you don’t think is as brilliant as you are. Do right by people; honor your commitments. Watch out for the booze and hard drugs, they never made a chef a better chef. Get a steady girlfriend so you don’t run around chasing tail all night when you should be sleeping and/or thinking about being a better chef. Travel the world, eat as much as possible.

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Congrats to Chef McGill on winning the 2013 Food & Wine award for “People’s Best New Chef“!

2013 Winner, Brendan McGill, Hitchcock

Cross-posted with permission from Chef Tom Douglas’ blog.

We are at the cusp of fresh salmon season with delicious pink, coho, Copper River, sockeye, king, and Bristol Bay salmon appearing on menus. Salmon is synonymous with the Pacific Northwest, and here in Seattle we idolize it. That’s why Tom Douglas has teamed up with fisherman, canneries, celebrities, boat builders, and movie producers to get the word out on why saving Bristol Bay is so important.

For those who don’t  know about the fight occurring over Bristol Bay, here is a quick synopsis from the The New York Times. As the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world, over 50% of the world’s salmon comes from this one body of water, located in southwestern Alaska.  The latest Bristol Bay Economic Report states that the harvesting, processing, and retailing of Bristol Bay salmon is worth $1.5 billion in value, and thousands of jobs.

Pebble Mine is a massive copper and gold mine that is proposed to be built upstream from Bristol Bay. It is spearheaded by Northern Dynasty Minerals (British Columbia) and Anglo American (London). Together they form the Pebble Partnership.

Pebble Partnership is spending over $80 million this year to collect the permits and approvals they need from state and federal agencies to begin building. The mine is only guaranteeing 50 years-worth of copper and gold resources—just one generation’s worth—and yet, it is estimated to permanently affect thousands of acres of wetlands and natural habitats, shut down 90 natural streams, and create 3,000 pounds of toxic waste.

Here’s a quote from the CEO of Pebble Partnership, John Shively, in an interview with PBS Frontline: “If the choice has to be between fish and mining, we choose the fish. Our challenge is to prove that the two can coexist.” Based on the latest EPA report, and under the Clean Water Act, no evidence suggests this is possible.

Leading the fight is Commercial Fisherman for Bristol Bay. Tom Douglas has joined the fight because in his words, “This is a thousands-of-year-old fishery; it has thousands of years of life left in it if we run it properly. To me, it’s unequivocally one of the biggest environmental catastrophes waiting to happen of my lifetime.”

Tom goes on to make the point that for restaurateurs, chefs, and diners, Pebble Mine affects us too:

“What’s important to us is [salmon is] sustainably caught, sustainably run;  that is just a part and parcel for us as restaurateurs—especially, I think, high end restaurateurs—where our customers are looking for our guidance on what’s right to eat, what’s a good thing to have on our plate—if I have it tonight, that I can still have it tomorrow, and for the rest of my life” – Tom Douglas.

Before last week, I’d never been to Charleston. I knew I’d be in for a treat – albeit a busy trip to plan for our fast-approaching National Sustainable Food Summit in November – but I was not fully prepared for the  incredible hospitality of Charleston. Below are a few stories of food, people, and Summit prep:

When I arrived, Mary of the Charleston Visitors Bureau met me at the airport and we went to Husk, Sean Brock’s celebration of South Carolina cuisine; it’s a charming place tucked inside a gorgeous two-story house with a large dining porch on the second floor. We had Husk’s benne crackers with pimento cheese, and charred scallion & citrus glazed pig ear lettuce wraps (see below for evidence). WOW. So many flavors. Both delicious. I had never had pig ears! And can’t wait to come back to enjoy their bar.

Mary was nice enough to show me around town, and she left me at the entrance to a barn in the middle of town where I was instructed to climb aboard a 14-person carriage, and set out on a carriage ride tour of Charleston’s lower peninsula area. With our horses and guide, we tromped through cobblestone streets,and learned why Charleston is nicknamed the “Holy City” (there’s even Holy City brewing!) as we saw dozens of churches, and incredible homes stretched along the water. Every house has a porch – piazza – facing the direction with the best breeze.

After the tour, I walked King street and Meeting Street – taking in the bar and restaurant scene. Ultimately, I had a quick flight of oysters, and tucked into The Francis Marion Hotel for the evening – the Gatsby-like home base for our Summit.

The next morning, our Host Committee convened at the Culinary Institute of Charleston. I met with more than 15 amazing chefs and business-persons devoted to advancing sustainable food in South Carolina. With our board member Megan Westmeyer at the helm, together we hashed out plans for the sessions, field trips, and agenda for our Summit (teaser – the Summit registration and details will be online soon!).

After, we went to Hominy Grill – where the stewed okra and tomatoes were simply AMAZING! And the grits of course. Yes please. After all, #GritsAreGoodForYou.

I finished the day with a beer overlooking the harbor at member chef Drew Hedlund’s restaurant Fleet Landing. Without question, he has one of the best views in all of Charleston! I met folks traveling from up and down the east coast, and had local kolsch beer – which fit perfectly with the 85 degree day and warm breeze.

Later, I met friends at The Ordinary on King Street, James Beard Award-winning chef Mike Lata’s newest spot,  and we enjoyed fantastic apertifs and oysters (of course).

Before I left town the next day, Chef Simon of the Francis Marion Hotel and I shared a meal, and talked about the chef community in Charleston. He directed me to the South Carolina Aquarium – an easy walk from the hotel – for one more meeting before I left town.

The Aquarium was full of ecstatic school kids and marine life (plus their bald eagle Liberty and other critters from their Madagascar exhibit), and from its outdoor deck I watched huge ships move up and down the harbor channel. I’m excited to share that we’ll be hosting our Summit reception on Monday 11/4 at the Aquarium. Trust me you won’t want to miss this opportunity to explore the Aquarium – sans school groups – and enjoy Lowcountry cuisine.

As I returned to the airport – an easy 15 minute drive from downtown Charleston, I reflected on the folks I met and the hospitality exuded by literally every person I came in contact with. This is the absolute perfect spot for our 2013 Sustainable Food Summit – and we can’t wait to welcome you there in six month’s time.

We are very pleased to have the opportunity to send 10 Chefs Collaborative members to Niman Ranch’s 14th Annual Hog Farmer Appreciation Dinner and a visit to Paul Willis’ farm in Iowa, this coming August 16 to 17, 2013.

Paul Willis was honored with our Pathfinder Award last year, which recognizes a visionary who has helped to transform our food system. Chefs in our network who have had the opportunity to attend this annual event in the past have returned home transformed by the experience of seeing firsthand what the humane and environmentally conscious alternative to pork production in our country looks like.

Eligible participants are chefs who are committed to raising awareness that good food starts on the farm and are current members of Chefs Collaborative. Application deadline is June 15, 2013.

Need to join or renew? It takes just a minute – you can become a member here or renew your membership here.

Please contact us if you have any questions. Click here for more information about last year’s Hog Farmer Appreciation Dinner and see below to apply for an all-expense paid weekend with Niman Ranch in August.

We’re excited to announce that we are again teaming up with Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association to host Bristol Bay Salmon Dinners in June and July!

We invite you to be a part of this national series that will generate a national chef and media conversation about the need to protect wild sockeye salmon.

We hope you’ll join chefs across the country to raise awareness about the Bristol Bay sockeye salmon: a resource worthy of celebrating, eating, and protecting.

Copper River Fish Market is hosting an Earth Dinners special; through May 12 they are accepting orders for 2013 Copper River Sockeye. And with every 10 lbs of frozen sockeye ordered they will include a single fillet of Pacific Grey Cod caught by Long Line: MSC certified and Monterey Bay Aquarium best choice.

They’re based in Alaska, and as someone relatively new to the food scene I wanted to sit down with them to find out a bit more about what they are all about, and how they address sustainability as they source seafood and distribute it far and wide.

Below is my conversation with Sarah of Copper River Fish Market. Have a question for them? Drop it in the comments!

Alisha: Sarah, can you tell me a bit more about Copper River Fish Market?

Sarah: Shipped once and shipped direct. When you purchase from Copper River Fish Market you are buying directly from a second generation Alaskan fishing family. We appreciate the opportunity to directly provide premium quality, fresh caught wild Alaska seafood- from our hands to yours. Choosing to purchase from our small family business allows us to compete in a food marketplace dominated and largely controlled by huge volume corporations.

Alisha: How do you operate with sustainability in mind, and what are your sustainability goals?

Sarah: We live our lives and commercial fish by a sustainable philosophy and are committed to contributing towards a healthy stewardship of the land and ocean for generations to come. The fisheries we participate in and the seafood we offer are all “Best Choices,” eg good for the earth and its oceans as well as your body.

We continually seek out greener alternatives for all areas of our operation. We do our best to minimize resource consumption by recycling engine oil, choosing green cleaning products, recyclable packaging etc. This spring marks the debut of Nature Flex labels for our products, fully compostable and made from renewable wood resins.

We only participate in sustainable fisheries. We employ best fishing practices to mindfully harvest our targeted catch resulting in the least amount of impact on other species. All our offerings are MSC certified.

We feel that it is important to “vote with your fork.” Buying seafood and other foods that are kind to our environment benefit our generation and those to come. Corporate producers can sway to friendlier sourcing and production practices but only if consumer demand is evident. .

Alisha: How does participating in Earth Dinners contribute to your vision and operation?

Sarah: Earth Dinners provides an opportunity for us to reach out and inform people of our offerings and the direct connection they can have with the fishermen that harvest their seafood.

Many are aware of the delicious attributes of our culinary superstar – Copper River Salmon. But few realize that they can have fresh caught or just frozen Copper River Salmon sent direct to their doorstep from our remote fishing town on the Copper River Delta in Alaska, along with our other seafood offerings.

Each fish has been wild-harvested and handled with care aboard a small family owned fishing boat. Special quality enhancing equipment and techniques used on-board result in a level of excellence that is just not possible within the larger supply chain. Conscientious handling techniques are used at sea to preserve quality and ease stress levels of our fish. This results in an extended shelf life, a moist and tender flake and exceptionally clean flavor.

Happy fish just taste better.

From our friends at Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay

After nearly a year of delays, the revised Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment is open for public comment. The facts paint a clear picture for commercial fishermen – the risks associated with Pebble are simply too great. Now we must paint our own picture for the EPA.

Click here to send the message today that chefs and fishermen are not willing to trade our beautiful seafood and fishing jobs for open-pit mining.

Based on the Pebble Limited Partnership’s own documents, the EPA Assessment shows that the Pebble Mine will destroy 87 miles of salmon streams and up to 4,800 acres of salmon habitat. Fishermen know that salmon need pristine habitat to survive. The Pebble Mine puts Bristol Bay’s fishermen and our 125-year-old commercial fishing industry at risk.

The threat of the proposed Pebble Mine has loomed over Bristol Bay’s fishermen and industry for nearly a decade and the science is finally in. You now have 30 days to urge the Administration to do what’s right for Bristol Bay’s commercial fishing industry and the 14,000 American jobs that depend on it.

Please take a minute and submit your comment today.

About Bristol Bay, Alaska

Bristol Bay, Alaska is host to one of the last great salmon fisheries on earth. It’s our last chance to get it right the first time. We must protect this national treasure and its commercial salmon fishery that helps feed the world; incredible sport fishing and recreation; fishing jobs and economy; and a native way of life that’s thousands of years old from the specter of the Pebble Mine, proposed as one of the largest open-pit mines on earth.

Pebble will generate up to 10 billion tons of toxic mine waste that must be stored, treated and monitored “in perpetuity” in the heart of the watershed. EPA has the power to stop this dangerous project under the Clean Water Act and we need you to urge them to do so now.