BBQ, BREWS & BLUEGRASS
July 25, 2010
Dunaway Gardens

Hor d’oevres
Smoked trout canapé
Deviled eggs with bacon jam
Country ham wrapped figs with whipped sorghum
Beer pairing: Venus Belgian White
First course
Farm Salad
Vegetables, greens, bacon bread crumbs & buttermilk dressing
Beer pairing: Watermelon Wheat Beer
Second course
Potlikker soup braised greens, field peas, sweet corn, cornbread puree
Beer pairing: Red Rye Saison
Third course
Whole Hog Barbecue Terminus City Style
Local cabbage slaw, granny’s potato salad & white bread
Beer pairing: Plan B IPA
Fourth course
Heirloom peach shortcake
Beer pairing: Nouveau Thor

Photos provided by Kitty Ray Swain

Kevin Gillespie

Chef Kevin Gillespie

Why is sourcing local and or organic produce important to you & your restaurant?   It’s important to ensure that we use the freshest products possible at Woodfire Grill. It makes sense to support our local farmers and serve the best tasting food to our customers.

If you were a farmer what would you raise or grow?  I think I would raise livestock and vegetables. I am intrigued by the three-field rotation method. It’s old-fashioned.

What one seasoning can you not live without? Well, salt goes without saying. In addition to that, apple cider vinegar.

What should every kitchen not be without? No kitchen should be without a high speed blender.

What chef or person inspired you to enter the culinary world? Thomas Keller. When I was 18 years old I got the French Laundry cookbook and read it cover to cover 3 times. He inspired me to constantly strive for perfection.

What celebrity or historical figure would you most want to serve a meal to? George Bernard Shaw or Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Where and with whom would be your ideal location for your last supper? What would you eat, drink and listen to? I would like to be in the middle of a clearing in the woods somewhere in the middle of nowhere with a river or stream nearby. And I’d like to be with my immediate family and friends. We’d eat bbq and fried chicken with all the traditional southern fixings. We’d drink sweet tea. And the playlist would be like my favorite indie rock and speed metal bands. The last song would be from Mineral’s last album, “The Last Word is Rejoice.”

KEVIN GILLESPIE

Executive Chef/Partner- Woodfire Grill

Chef Kevin Gillespie’s true passion lies in serving his customers quality food every day.  This enthusiasm means incorporating the use of fresh, organic and sustainable ingredients in all of his dishes.   His goals as executive chef and partner of Woodfire Grill are to increase the usage of local products, make seasonal dishes more exciting, and create a youthful atmosphere at the restaurant.

Gillespie, an Atlanta native, began his culinary education at the Art Institute of Atlanta where he was able to apply several scholarships he had previously earned from cooking competitions and other academic success.  During school, Gillespie was determined to gain the experience he needed to become a successful chef.  While carrying a full course load at the Art Institute, he worked part time at various restaurants perfecting his craft.  After graduating with honors, Gillespie went on to hold different positions at several well-known Atlanta restaurants including chef de partie at Atlanta Grill at The Ritz-Carlton, sous chef at TWO Urban Licks and chef de cuisine at Woodfire Grill.  He enjoyed his time at each of these places but found a true connection at Woodfire, where he originally stayed for two years.  In August of 2006, Gillespie headed to the West Coast where he went to work as executive sous chef at Fife Restaurant in Portland, Oregon.  After a year and a half there, he missed his family and friends in the South and returned to Atlanta.  Gillespie came back to Woodfire Grill to continue to work for his friend and teacher Michael Tuohy.

In the summer of 2008, Nicolas Quiñones and Bernard Moussa of Five Senses Restaurants, LLC purchased Woodfire Grill and made Gillespie the new executive chef.  They felt that in order to carry on Woodfire Grill’s reputation and mission, he was the most qualified for the position.  In early 2009, Gillespie joined Quiñones and Moussa as a partner in the restaurant.  Through his training, skill and passion, Gillespie maintains the values and ideas on which the restaurant is based.  In addition to achieving this partnership at the restaurant, Gillespie also earned a spot on Bravo’s Emmy and James Beard Award-winning series “Top Chef” for the show’s sixth season in Las Vegas in 2009.  Proving to be a top contender by winning several “Quickfire Challenges” and “Elimination Challenges,” he stood out as one of this season’s final three chef-testants who competed for the “Top Chef” title in Napa Valley.  Gillespie was also voted “fan favorite” by the viewers of “Top Chef.”

As a rising young culinary star that brings more than just good food to the table, Gillespie was named one of Mother Nature Network’s top “40 Chefs Under 40” in November 2009 for linking farms to forks and promoting better health for people and the planet.  In February of 2010, he was honored as one of Gayot.com’s “Top Five Rising Chefs” and named as a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s “Rising Star Chef of the Year” award.

Gillespie currently resides in the Morningside-Lenox Park area of Atlanta.  He is a member of Slow Food Atlanta, Southern Food Ways Alliance, Chefs Collaborative and the Society for the Preservation of traditional Southern Barbecue.  In his spare time he enjoys camping, playing music and barbecuing.

Q&A with Steve Esau of Niman Ranch

What’s your definition of sustainable food? Definition of Sustainable: Ask 10 different people and you will get 11 different answers as the first person will want to change their answer by the time they hear the 10th person’s definition. But to tell you the truth, that’s okay because as we learn more and become more informed, sustainability and the level of commitment continues to change on a personal level. I feel when you take the definition of sustainable to food and food production, one needs to realize actions reach beyond the fence line of a given farm or property owner. For the purpose of this interview, to me sustainable food is defined as a food that is grown or raised in a respectful system where the earth is minimally impacted preserving it for future generations.

What’s the biggest challenge facing sustainable food right now?I think there are many challenges that face sustainable food production right now. But one of the biggest is the resistance of the status quo (factory farming and large commodity producers) to evaluate the true cost of cheap agricultural production.

What does Niman Ranch do to tackle the problem? The system or systems need to be sustainable. Not only do the actual production methods need to be sustainable but so does the ability to get product to market. Niman Ranch addresses many of these problems by bringing together the network of 650+ individual family farmers and ranchers under one brand who otherwise might struggle with issues such as harvesting, processing, inspection, third party audits, marketing, sales, logistics, distribution, and balance of the carcass. The farm as a business entity also needs to be sustainable to operate from year to year. Niman Ranch through the brand is able to pay the farmer or rancher a premium for their livestock to cover the additional costs of production under the Niman Ranch protocols or guidelines. The premiums are increased as the quality of the product increases. This is important, because the ultimate decision on repeat purchases and brand survival is consumer satisfaction. Everything can be right on paper but if the product or the brand doesn’t perform the whole system will collapse.

How do we move sustainable food into the mainstream? Over the last three years there have been huge strides in moving sustainable food programs into the mainstream. Obviously there are different levels or measurements of sustainable but the key is that we keep from “green washing” the standards. Chefs such as Kevin Gillespie who have influence are critical in not only getting the consumer to think and ask questions but also his colleagues. It is also critical that the consumer continues to vote with their dollar and actions.

Can you discuss your animal husbandry standards? Probably the easiest way to describe Niman Ranch’s husbandry standards in a nutshell is to say that we implement a low stress system in the raising and harvesting of the animals in the Niman Ranch program. We work closely with Dr. Temple Grandin and other leading minds in the animal welfare arena to continually evaluate our system and protocols to make sure they are of the highest standards.

How much more expensive is it to follow these standards? I am not sure I can put an accurate pencil to measuring the exact cost to follow the Niman Ranch standards or protocols as there are many, many factors to take into consideration. The actual production methods followed by Niman Ranch farmers and ranchers are more costly due to a decrease in efficiencies not only in the cost of gain but the number of pounds of product going to market per acre due to the low density farming practices. But there are also expenses that are hard to measure that occur outside the actual cost of producing a pound of beef, pork, or lamb in a “commodity” system. Take for instance; Iowa has the most polluted ground water of any state. That statistic can be directly tied to the number of CAFO or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations / Factory Farms. This is just one example of an unmeasured cost that isn’t put back against the price of “commodity” raised pork. It goes back to the question “What is the true cost of cheap meat?”

How did Niman Ranch become the largest U.S. network of family farmers and ranchers?

When I think of the large corporate “factory” farms that song comes to mind. For the most part, Niman Ranch didn’t do anything revolutionary. We aren’t out there waving flags and converting factory farms to our way of farming, ranching and raising livestock. What Niman Ranch has offered is a means for the family farmer who is committed to what Niman Ranch stands for – a market and a sustainable price for their product. In the truest sense Niman Ranch is a marketing co-op that manages and connects over 650 individual U.S. family farmers and ranchers with the customer. Niman Ranch from the consumer side has been able to build the trust of the consumer in our products with stringent protocols governing both animal welfare and production methods through a third party independent audit system that is in place to guarantee claims are met.

What are the benefits of choosing your products? There are many issues that drive a consumer to purchase. Niman Ranch reaches across the lines and addresses many of those issues. Niman Ranch offers the consumer products that are “never ever” or “clean” – never given any antibiotics or added hormones. Niman Ranch offers the consumer sustainable products that are raised with respect – respect to the earth, respect to the U.S. farmers and ranchers who labor to bring products to market, and respect to the animal through all phases of its life.

Is there anything else you want to add? Knowledge and commitment is the key to the success of sustainability in our food system. The level for each can be different from person to person and altered by our means. Make a difference in what you do and do it with passion.