SENSATIONAL

CULINAITAt Edmonton’s City MarketDowntown, chef BlairLebsack checks out hisfavourites: (from top)Mighty Trio Organics oil,tomatoes from Gull ValleyGreenhouses and SmokyValley Goat Cheese.It’s no accident that Lebsack knows the peoplebehind the food. During nearly five years as executivechef at Madison’s Grill in the Union Bank Inn, a steadystream of farmers flowed through his kitchen, stockinga menu that always leaned local. He stands among agrowing subset of chefs who recognize that eating localis more than a fad – it’s essential.Eating local is not primarily about calculating thedistance from farm to table, Lebsack says, but aboutsupporting the “artisan and specialty farms thatshowcase what our land can actually produce.” Besidesupping the taste and nutrition quotient, eating localfuels our economy, reduces the energy consumed intransportation and, as today’s tour illustrates, buildscommunity.Reducing our reliance on faraway factory farms alsoincreases food security, Lebsack says. “Edmonton is thefarthest reach for California products, so if anything evergoes wrong in California, we’re the first to be cut out ofthe loop.”But only if we support these artisan farmers willthey continue to exist. Toward that end, Lebsack islaunching a local chefs’ collaborative aimed at matchingfarmers with chefs to help move more local food intorestaurants – no longer niche, but mainstream.as executive chef at the high-volume Shaw ConferenceCentre, Simon Smotkowicz has set a goal of doublinghis use of 10 per cent local food by the end of 2012.He knows the extra time involved, from scouting outsuppliers to preparing potatoes that no longer comepeeled. He also knows that this food typically costssomewhat more than mass-produced fare, althoughthat difference can be offset by choosing less popularcuts of meat and in-season produce. But dinersappreciate the results, he says. “It can be an edge for arestaurant, because these products are always muchbetter quality.”Yet only a minority of area chefs is dedicated tousing local food, says Smotkowicz, whose culinaryleadership earned him an honorary diploma fromNAIT in 2003. As president of the Canadian CulinaryFederation Edmonton Chapter, he is determinedto change that. It’s not a case of either-or, he says.“Because we eat local doesn’t mean we’ve got to sayno to everything else. It’s like being on a diet – usemoderation.”Noting that a chefs’ collaborative in Victoria issucceeding in putting more local fare on the menu,Smotkowicz imported the concept in collaboration withDine Alberta – and asked Lebsack to lead the charge.An initial meeting last November, hosted by AlbertaAgriculture, led to a producers showcase at Northlandsin February. More than 200 attended the showcase andthe buzz was encouraging, Lebsack says, but few chefschanged their buying habits. To overcome inertia, thecollaborative intends to build a list of local producersthat want to work with restaurants, he says. “We needto see some long-standing relationships, not just oneoffpurchases.”lebsack’s mid-summer farm dinner at Nature’s GreenAcres illustrates the dance involved in expanding theclientele for local food. The event is attracting quite acrowd, but expanding the table is not as straightforwardas it might seem. “We’re butchering one pig just for this,”Lebsack notes. It’s not as if killing another half pig is aviable option.The chefs’ collaborative faces that same issue writlarge when connecting chefs with potential suppliers,56 techlifemag.ca