BRO Submission By: Christa Glennie Seychew

Last week three area chefs got together to present a Nose-to-Tail dinner as a fundraiser for the chef-friendly non-profit organization, the Field & Fork Network. 

Nose-to-Tail dinners have seen a rise in popularity over the last few years as they not only generally make use of the increasingly popular heritage breeds, but also require the chefs to be innovative and economical in their use of the animal--all to the benefit of the dinner guest.

A heritage breed animal, as described by SustainableTable.org, is a traditional livestock breed  raised by farmers in the past, before the drastic reduction of breed variety caused by the move toward industrial agriculture. (They cite this example: Within the past 15 years, 190 breeds of farm animals have gone extinct worldwide, and there are currently 1,500 others at risk of becoming extinct. In the past five years alone, 60 breeds of cattle, goats, pigs, horses and poultry have become extinct.)  A good friend of mine once told me that her favorite thing about heritage breed animals is that the best way to preserve the breed is to eat them; and she's right!

Here in Western New York we are lucky to have a number of farmers committed to raising heritage breeds of all sorts: cattle, chickens, ducks, rabbits and sheep.  At the center of Monday's dinner was a fine, heritage breed Gloucestershire Old Spot hog raised on the pristine pasture of T-Meadow farms in Lockport, NY.  T-Meadow raises a few heritage breeds, but the Old Spot is the belle of the ball.  The most interesting thing about this breed may be that they are a foraging animal that eats grass, and the variety of its diet leads to a rich, flavorful meat.

I was fortunate to take two groups of food enthusiasts out to T-Meadow last fall on a farm tour, and was truly impressed by the health of the animals, the cleanliness of the farm and the good life these animals live.  Before we met, Rich Tilyou, the farmer, shipped most of his pigs to a farmer closer to New York, whose customers include The Big Apple's best chefs.  Tilyou has a steady business there, but has recently been able to increase his business by selling to chefs here in Buffalo.  Deliveries have been made to Curly's, Carmelo's, The Stillwater and Bistro Europa with more to come.  "Damn this pig is gorgeous," messaged Chef Steven Gedra, owner of Bistro Europa, the host restaurant and organizer of the event. "I can't get over it. I thought Berkshires were money. They can't hold a candle to an Old Spot."  Tilyou can be credited as one of the few farmers trying to save the Old Spot--he sends breeder pigs all over the country to those looking to help bolster this breed, which just a few years ago, was down to less than fifty animals living in the United States.

Gedra and his chef friends, Carmelo Raimondi of Carmelo's and Bruce Wieszala, a recent transfer to The Stillwater, prepared the feast, a nine course ode to the amazing hog, and a warm and heartfelt show of appreciation for the Field & Fork Network.  To my knowledge, no other Western New York restaurant has publicly undertaken such a feat, and I was very proud to be a part of the event.  The menu was pork-centric, as it should be, and although the food was top notch, guests were encouraged to enjoy themselves in more casual fashion.  Both red and white wine were served from old-fashioned juice glasses, the napkins were small kitchen hand towels, and Pork Slap beer, made by Butternuts, a New York State brewery, was served by the can.

The sold out dinner was a great success, and local smoker, Joe Kennedy of Spar's, helped by smoking some of the cuts, while farmer Daniel Oles, a Field & Fork Network board member and owner of Promised Land CSA provided carrots, cabbage, onions, potatoes and other root vegetables from his personal root cellar.  We've included the menu below, and you can see from this slideshow how much fun was had by all.  Supporting local farmers and the restaurants that purchase from them is a fundamental way to not only improve our local economy, but to insure that Western New York's future generations have access to local, farm fresh food.  Every year our region loses more farmland to development and more farmers to retirement.  It is so important that we find a way to bolster the agricultural side of our region. As city dwellers, this can most easily be done my looking for local food in our supermarkets, by shopping at farmers markets and by frequenting restaurants dedicated to sourcing local ingredients and wines.

Nose-to-Tail
March 1st, 2010

Hors d'ouvres
Carmelo's Pork Rinds
cheese powder & pimenton

Pork Candy Wrappers
fermented black bean sauce

First Course
Lardo Pizzetta
apple,mint, Fontina

Second Course
Spicy pork Spring Rolls
crispy ear, red pepper caramel

Third Course
Coppa di Testa
mostarda fruit & housemade mustard

Fourth Course
Offally Good Soup
cauliflower veloute, offally good dumplings

Fifth Course
Dueling breakfasts
Grand Slam
belly, potato hash, truffle, tempura fried poached egg
Bacon-cheddar Biscuit, Sausage Gravy

Sixth Course
Herb-crusted Stuffed Loin
tea-steeped apricots & prunes, almonds, pistachio-carrot purée

Seventh Course
BBQ Plate
smoked shoulder & ribs, sweet, mustard, and vinegar sauces, collards, Navajo fry bread

Eighth Course
Porchetta
apple-rosemary purée, mustard greens

Ninth Course
Waffles & Smoky Bacon/Maple Ice Cream
candied bacon tuile

Author's Note: In the interest of full disclosure, as the author of this story I should note that I am the co-founder of Field & Fork Network, and was delightfully surprised when my friends and network members, Chef Gedra, Chef Wisezala and Chef Raimondi, approached me with the offer to host this dinner for our organization.  Great thanks should be heaped upon all who came and all who made effort as this event was a warm and wonderful evening celebrating the great talent that exists here in Western New York, from the farm to the table.

Field & Fork Network

Sustainable Table:

T-Meadow Farm:

Gloucestershire Old Spot

farm tour:

Chef Steven Gedra, owner of Bistro Europa:

FeedYourSoul

Curly's:

Carmelo's:

The Stillwater:

Spar's

Promised Land CSA