I was in Minnesota recently, filming a series of videos about a veteran organic farmer, Steven Schwen, of Earthen Path Organic Farm. I was going to film at his farm for only 2 days, yet I also wanted to be able to see him sell his produce at the farmer’s market since it was a big part of his business, and his life. He’d been selling at the Rochester Farmers Market for 30 years! So, I ended up extending the length of the trip just to be able to film him at the market.
And I’m glad I did. While most of that footage will be used in the story about Steven Schwen, and the remarkable work he does, this little bit captures an interesting encounter of a chef that buys his food from the same local Rochester’s Farmer’s Market.
It began as I was leaving, I bumped into a friendly fellow who had come back to Steven’s stand. We got to talking about Farmer Markets in general, how wonderful the produce was, and marveled at what types of food could be found and how good they all tasted. It was during this discussion it came out that Greg Jaworski was a chef at a restaurant a little further north from where we stood, up in Lake City. In fact, his restaurant, Nosh Restaurant and Bar, was closer to Steven’s farm than the Rochester Farmer’s Market, but he had been coming to both the farm and the market to buy Steven’s produce – and produce from other farmers there – because what these farmers grew made his job that much easier. He didn’t have to rely upon salt, sugar, or fat to add flavor – the flavor was in the freshness and the quality of the produce! He only had to bring them together in a way that enhanced and complemented each other.
As Jaworski says in the piece, he also enjoys helping support local farmers by purchasing their products directly from them. In fact, he truly enjoys making out a check to them. Imagine that!