article on the surfin chef erik stenberg
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Article from the Independant in Santa Barbara, about Erik Stenberg, AKA the Surfin' ChefTRANSCRIPT
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Meet the Farmer : Monthly dinner introduces Santa Barbara to growers and their crops BY BRETT LEIGH DICKS, NEWS-‐PRESS CORRESPONDENT
May 19, 2012 4:47 AM
A stroll through any of the Santa Barbara County farmers markets reveals a colorful and flavorful bounty of fresh local produce. But just as robust as the fanciful fare that garnishes row after row of rustic market tables is the inspiration and dedication of the farmers who so dutifully bring their goods to market.
Along with early-‐morning starts and late finishes in the fields, countless hours are expended sorting, boxing and hauling produce to the farmers markets, where it is presented with the same degree of nurture that has gone into its cultivation. For many local farmers, it is a labor of love and one that is typically not recognized.
Two local epicurean enthusiasts, Erik Stenberg and Jessie Fidler, have recently set about changing that. One night each month, the pair host a Meet the Farmer dinner, where the bounty of a local farm is highlighted in a set menu at the Goodland Kitchen in Goleta.
The multicourse meal is prepared by Mr. Stenberg and the farmer is on hand to talk about the history and vision of his or her operation.
While Chef Stenberg and Ms. Fidler, production manager at Goodland Kitchen, had discussed the concept of establishing a monthly farm-‐to-‐table dinner for some time, the opening of the commercial kitchen in April of last year was the impetus for the idea to become a reality.
Not only did Goodland Kitchen provide a location, but its manager, Melissa Gomez, helped the pair refine the concept.
Meet the Farmer dinners are held at the Goodland Kitchen in Goleta. Dining takes place in the kitchen and includes seating for about 30
patrons.
BRETT LEIGH DICKS/NEWS-‐PRESS PHOTOS
Since October 2011, Erik Stenberg and Jessie Fidler have hosted a
monthly Meet the Farmer dinner at Goleta's Goodland Kitchen. The multicourse menu highlights the
seasonal produce of a different farm each month. On Thursday, they will
feature Fairview Gardens.
Jessie Fidler plates a serving of beef tartar with arugula oil and fennel pollen at last month's Meet the Farmer dinner, which featured Rancho San Julian's bounty.
The upcoming dinner highlights Fairview Gardens and the evening
will feature talks by the organization's executive director, Mark Tollefson, left, and farm
manager, Shawn McMahon, right.
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"Melissa Gomez thought that there should be a theme attached to the dinner," explained Ms. Fidler, 24. "She came up with the idea of Meet the Farmer, where we could invite the farmer as a guest and personalize the farm-‐to-‐table experience."
The next Meet the Farmer event on Thursday will highlight the produce of Fairview Gardens. Previously featured at the debut dinner in October, the Goleta farm's upcoming menu offers diners the opportunity to contrast the seasonality of its crops.
"The last time we featured Fairview Gardens it was fall," said Mr. Stenberg, 30, a trained chef who not only oversees the menu but helms the kitchen for the night. "One of things we really want to highlight in the dinners is seasonality, and by bringing Fairview back in spring, the availability of different produce will mean a completely different menu."
Mr. Stenberg and Ms. Fidler's history with Fairview Gardens goes beyond the first Meet the Farmer dinner. The pair met in 2009 while working at the organically focused establishment, which furthered their farm-‐to-‐table awareness.
"That's when the whole connection between preparing and eating what's seasonally available was propelled," Ms. Fidler said. "Erik has been cooking in restaurants since he was 15 and the experiences at Fairview exposed him to the farming side of things and connected with his kitchen experience. He even has his own garden now."
Since October, there have been seven Meet the Farmer dinners. A range of local farming enterprises have been featured, including Rancho San Julian, Earthtrine Farm, The Garden Of ... , Shepherd Farms, and Ellwood Canyon Farms, with the inspiration for each menu stemming from what is available from the respective farm leading up to the event.
"The inspiration varies with the farmer and time of year," Mr. Stenberg said. "In working with Shu Takikawa from The Garden Of ... , there was an Asian influence in the dishes, and working with "BD" Dautch (of Earthtrine Farm), who's a vegan, meant creating an entire seven-‐course feast that was completely vegan.
"I spend a lot of time working in my own garden growing my own fruits and vegetables and (being) surrounded by what's in season. Combining that with my cooking experience is also a big part of the inspiration."
The evening begins over drinks and hors d'oeuvres before diners adjourn to the kitchen, where a long dining table caters to 30 patrons. Each event features multiple courses, ranging between five and seven, depending on the farm and ingredients on offer.
Hosts Mr. Stenberg and Ms. Fidler and the guest farmer educate patrons about the farm and its ingredients between courses.
When "BD" Dautch and his Earthtrine Farm in Ojai were featured in March, the vegan menu ranged from grilled broccoli and toasted sesame seed bruschetta and kim chee to an herb and green garlic yukon cake served with crispy sprouted grains and fava beans, sage honey-‐glazed beets, wild arugula and fresh cherimoya, bathed in a warm, toasted walnut dressing.
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In April, which featured North County's Rancho San Julian, the highlights included a beef tartar with arugula oil and fennel pollen served with horseradish mayonnaise, crispy breadcrumbs and fennel granite and an herb-‐ and butter-‐basted roasted rib-‐eye with sauce Bordelaise, potato wedges and wilted rainbow chard served with leek jam and bone marrow.
Mr. Stenberg's menus are born from almost 15 years of culinary experience. Having worked and cooked in restaurants since he was 15, in 2002, he graduated from Johnson & Wales University's culinary arts program in Providence, R.I., with an associate in science degree. After spending several years working in kitchens abroad, in 2008, Mr. Stenberg came to Santa Barbara, where he had heard about the dynamic food and farming scene, and soon started working at Fairview Gardens.
It was there that he met Ms. Fidler in 2009 while running the farm's market stand, a fruitful union on many levels. Not only did they become a couple, they formed relationships with others.
"We started doing farmers markets together and that's also how we met a lot of the farmers we are now working with through the dinners," Ms. Fidler explained.
After graduating from UCSB in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in global and international studies, Ms. Fidler took her global perspective on agriculture and directed it into food advocacy on a local level, first with the Orfalea Foundation and their School Food Initiative and then Fairview Gardens. She has worked with Goodland Kitchen since its opening.
The couple lives on the outskirts of Goleta, where they tend to a garden of their own on one-‐sixteenth of an acre. While their plot might be dwarfed by some of their Meet the Farmer colleagues, it sustains more than just their own appetites.
"We used some of the stuff from our own garden for the dinners to supplement what we buy from the farms," said Mr. Stenberg.
"I just harvested a couple of pounds of fava beans," he enthusiastically said. "We have also recently pulled up onions and potatoes. Now that we have our summer stuff in we have a couple of rotations of tomatoes, peppers, melons and summer squash. We also have a variety of lettuces and ton of kale and chard and pretty much all your herbs."
Through the Meet the Farmer dinners, Mr. Stenberg and Ms. Fidler hope to inspire their patrons not just to think locally about food, but embrace all the epicurean possibilities Santa Barbara has to offer.
"Just like not everyone's a cook, not everyone's a farmer or gardener," Ms. Fidler observed. "But if we can inspire a few people through the dinners to do that, then that's great. The aim of the night is to connect over a meal that is thoughtfully and intentionally prepared and to slow down and pause for a moment to enjoy the experience.
"That experience will hopefully make them think about where the food comes from, the amazing food that's grown here in the region and how to make good use of it."