Mushroom Foraging

 

Tuesday, October 5^th – The Oakland Cemetery with Drew VanLeuvan of One Midtown Kitchen and Farmer Don Hardiman of Geezer Gardens

Dining with the Deceased

Yet another successful (and delicious) meal from For Food’s Sake, on Tuesday, October 5^th, FFS members and several new guests gathered at Atlanta’s historic Oakland Cemetery for a feast never to forget. Guests followed a trail of luminaries from the gated entrance to the Visitor’s Center, where wine was poured and an Amuse Bouche of handmade sausage and pickled beans was passed around to eager palates. Once the sun set, everyone found their seat along a grand estate table, set with white linens and majestic candelabras—a stark contrast to the mystic monuments surrounding it. The subtle streamlined glow created a perfect autumn ambiance, with just a little October spook, knowing those graves were resting just beyond your line of sight.

The evening was hosted by ONE.midtown kitchen Executive Chef Drew VanLeuvan and Farmer Don Hardimann of Geezer Farms. They started out by serving beef carpaccio, preserved acorn squash, crisp farmstead cheese, all accented with fresh lemon aioli. Across the table were exclamations of “I didn’t even know I liked beef carpaccio” or “are you going to finish yours?” Clearly, Chef Drew knew how to get the appetites running.

The second course came as a warm butternut squash soup, topped with warm brown butter, leaving not a dry bowl on the table. The third course quickly followed, bringing plates heaped with russet potato gnocchi garnished with the biggest, meatiest chanterelle mushrooms you’ve ever seen, and topped with wild arugula and fresh Greek feta.

Our last entrée was a smoked magret duck, more tender and flavorful than you could imagine, topped with marinated ruby beets, oj fennel and charred red onion. The flavor combination brought another round of sound bites from the table, this time asking for chef’s secrets, proving this was certainly not a meal to be ignored.

Chef Drew topped off his performance with a truly southern dessert—a huckleberry and semolina cake (think sweet blueberry cornbread biscuits) with a lemon glaze and chantilly topping. Again, no plate was left unclean and several eyes darted across the table, practicing powerful self-control to resist licking up the crumbs.

Overall, the meal left everyone holding his or her bellies, but left no one with any regret for refusing to simply dabble in each course. Chef Drew and Farmer Don exceeded member expectations, clearly exemplifying that the use of local, fresh fruits and vegetables has perks beyond our hungriest appetites and most sophisticated palates. –Jenni Williams

ONE.midtown kitchen is located in Midtown, Atlanta at 559 Dutch Valley Road. Geezer Farms is in Limestone County, Alabama
October 5, 2010
Chef Drew VanLeuvan & Farmer
Don Hardimann of Geezer Farms

Amuse Bouche
First course
Beef carpaccio, preserved acorn squash,crisp farmstead cheese, lemon aioli
Willm Cremant d’Alsace
Second course
Butternut squash soup, warm brown butter
Willm Cremant d’Alsace
Third course
Russet potato gnocchi, chanterelle mushrooms, wild arugula, feta
Valcome Cotes-du-Rhone Blanc
Fourth course
Smoked magret duck, marinated ruby beets,oj fennel, charred red onion
Becquer Rioja
Dessert course
Huckleberry and semolina cake, lemon glaze, chantilly
Ormella Moscato

What prepared you to be a farmer? Not sure I am prepared, though I was born on a farm in rural Limestone County, AL in 1941 and grew up absorbing by osmosis, the lesson that if one is to farm, certain tasks must be performed using certain methods at certain times, or things don’t work.  And if you are a subsistence farmer —- you and your family get hungry.  I think that lesson has stood me in good stead all of my life.  I have not farmed continually all of my life —-got sidetracked for a while and  have had a couple of other careers —- but that understanding works in most every venue.  City kids can and often do learn the lesson, but they have to learn it.  Most do, at some point in life, but until it is learned, they are disadvantaged.
What is a unique feature and how many acres do you farm? I suppose the most unique feature about the place is its’ location.  It is at the very top of a watershed so no pollutants (except rain and airborne ones) arrive on it.  If there is damage, I have to accept responsibility for it.  The place is 200 acres, but we have only about 20 percent of it in “cultivation”  Mostly it is deciduous woodland.  It grows timber well enough and would do little else on most of the land.  It lies atop and down the sides of what passes locally for a “mountain”.  It’s highest point is approximately 1600 feet above sea level.  Not much of a mountain actually, more of a molehill.  Most of the parts on the side of the “mountain” are very steep and not well adaptable for growing crops other than timber.  The very top is somewhat rolling terrain, so we have to be quite careful about erosion.  We plant with the contours and make sure that the swales (drainage watercourses) are planted to sod at all times.  These methods along with the fact that we never plow it up combine to improve it rather than cause damage.  The portions where we plant food crops are narrow strips, perhaps two feet wide.  Those we till (again on contour) and once the crops are planted and out of the ground, we mulch to help maintain moisture and keep down unwanted  vegetation. The areas between the rows are rapidly, regularly cut with a lawn mower.  This actually serves to kill many insects, and is far less energy intensive than tilling it all.  The method yields another side benefit, in that the whole is aesthetically pleasing and low maintenance.  If it has just rained, and there is work in the field to be done, one is not working in mud.
Tell us about your main crops and how you chose the varieties.  If you have livestock, tell us about your feed and how they live on your farm. Mainly, we grow vegetables and mushrooms.  I have an assistant who has many years experience at veggie growing,  and he is rapidly adapting to our methodology.  We do have some livestock —- most at the moment owned by my assistant.  There is a herd of alpacas,  Maybe eight or ten, there are a few goats, a few pigs, a donkey, a mule and some dogs and cats.  We plan soon to add a few cows and calves.  Every animal has a specific purpose, ( except the mule) so far, he is for entertainment.  Waste veggies are fed to the animals  and they  graze in their pastures and are supplementally fed as needed, and their droppings collected and composted along with the waste product from the mushroom growing for use as fertilizer. Varieties of veggies we grow are mostly Heirloom types, selected for quality of product rather than other criteria. How much of food goes to farmers markets and or restaurants? Virtually all of our production is sold to restaurants or fed to the animals or consumed by us, (or given to others).
What challenges do you have as a farmer?
Weather and other forces of nature — insects etc.  We do not use conventional pesticides.
Second challenge is making enough money to stay in business.
Third through 50 ‘th is trying to figure out how to improve production while improving the land.

Where do you see farming in the future? There are moves afoot, sponsored by Corporate agriculture to destroy small holder producers.  Silly laws are being written by people who are being lobbied by Corporate Organizations and who could not identify a garden hoe if they stepped on it.  I plan to live out my life doing what I am doing, and if I am made an outlaw for sustainably producing on a small scale, so be it.  I hope that when I am gone, someone will step in and take up my mantle.  Climate change may make this all irrelevant —- at least in this latitude.  The heat the last few summers has made production difficult.
Where would be your ideal location for your last supper, what would be your meal & music and who would join you ? I think it would be under a wild cherry tree on my farm —- probably a cookout —- with my children and grandchildren, many of my friends from the rest of my life and from the Restaurant Industry in attendance —- Probably cook some pork ribs on a grille, and have the traditional things that go with them – a fine green salad with chopped romaine and heirloom tomatoes–  some grill roasted sweet corn —- perhaps some al dente haricot vert, and some fine potato salad, deviled eggs  and baked beans.  Music would probably be rousing classical —- Maybe Beethoven’s Fifth — or Wagner’s Ride of the Valkries —- or the 1812 Overture—-.
Don Hardiman is age 69 and counting who’s previous career has been engineering assistant and photographer — technical representative, designer and manufacturer of fine custom jewelry and final career: Farmer and he hopes —inventor. Don Hardiman   — “The Geezer’s Garden” PO Box 278 — Gurley, AL 35748 , 256 603 0417

Chef Drew VanLeuvan

Why is sourcing local and or organic produce important to you & your restaurant?Sourcing local and organic produce ensures that we are always providing the freshest and most seasonal products to our customers. Using local ingredients gives you better quality ingredients that are better for you; my responsibility as a Chef is to ensure that our guests are receiving and enjoying the highest quality in ingredients that we are able to provide.
If you were a farmer what would you raise or grow?
I would focus on what crops that thrive in the climate I am living in. I am a novice gardener and grow produce throughout the year. In the south, we have such a mild climate, it’s great for produce.
What one seasoning can you not live without? Fennel Seed
What should every kitchen not be without? [ie: type of knife, pan, olive oil, etc]
A Japanese Slicer
What chef or person inspired you to enter the culinary world? Jean Louis Palladin, my mentor.
What celebrity or historical figure would you most want to serve a meal to?
Jean Louis Palladin – I would like to show him how my time working with him has influenced me, my cooking and how I work in the kitchen.
Where and with whom would be your ideal location for your last supper? What would you eat, drink and listen to?The ideal location for my last supper would be on a Lighthouse Beach in Cape Cod, with my daughter. We would start with Jean Louis’ Chestnut Soup, followed by Heirloom Tomatoes and Melons with a sweet and savory granita. Our third course would be a slice of cheese pizza from A&J Pizza in Queens, and finish with a warm Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut. I would also enjoy a bottle of red from St. Emilion, France – preferably from 1994.
Connecticut native and Atlanta local Drew VanLeuvan brings 16 years of experience to ONE.midtown kitchen, a Concentrics concept that lead the restaurant resurgence to Midtown as well as helped elevate the Atlanta culinary scene to national recognition.  Chef VanLeuvan began cooking while enrolled at the University of Massachusetts. Cooking became his passion and he eventually found himself behind the stove much more than behind a desk and, as he says, “the rest is history.” Chef VanLeuvan went on to graduate from the Culinary Institute of America in 2000. Following graduation, Chef VanLeuvan perfected his skills while apprenticing under some of the world’s best Chefs including Jean Louis Palladin, Guenter Seeger, Wylie Dufresne, Joel Antunes, Sam Mason and Chef Mark Dommen. In 2004 Chef VanLeuvan served as Executive Chef at Atlanta’s acclaimed Toast Restaurant where he was recognized as a “Chef on the Rise” by Food and Wine Magazine. Following his stint at Toast, Van Leuvan became executive chef at Spice Restaurant where he received 3 stars from both the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Creative Loafing. In 2006, Chef VanLeuvan was appointed Executive Chef of Saga Restaurant where he was given the “Rising Star Award” by StarChefs.com and “most memorable plate of 2007” by Creative Loafing. He is the previous owner of Pan De Mie Pasta Company, one of two hand-made past companies in Atlanta.
Chef VanLeuvan is a member of the Jean Louis Palladin Foundation, Slow Food and Chefs Collaborative. When Chef VanLeuvan has time away from the kitchen, he likes to spend it with his daughter, Kayden, and wife, Kellie, in their Ormewood Park home. He also enjoys working in his garden and utilizing his homegrown vegetables in his dishes.