Chefs help extend farm-fresh season in R.I.

This time of year, one might think that it is more difficult for the chefs who use the “farm-to-table” philosophy to practice their craft. Not so, says one local chef who is at the forefront of the local sourcing movement that makes dining out around here such a pleasure.
Nemo Bolin is the chef and proprietor of Cook and Brown Public House on the Hope Street restaurant row in Providence.
Bolin and his fellow chefs are actually helping these farmers to extend the season. “It’s a great thing in New England to realize that we can get local, small-production produce basically all year. It’s a bit more difficult in January and February when we can’t get stuff out of the ground but even then we have wintered squash and root vegetables.”
The chef sat at a table in his dining room looking out onto a gray Friday afternoon and spoke of things green and growing. “Right now we have a lot of independent, small farmers growing [vegetables] who are still delivering every week.” Deliveries show up four or five times a week. And on board the trucks from the farm are what used to be called “winter vegetables,” rutabagas, turnips and the like. “We get beautiful baby greens that we use as salad mixes,” said Bolin, looking over mustard greens and baby bok choy. He enjoys cooking with them a bit more than he does the garden-variety mesclun mix or arugula. “People think of fresh herbs as growing only in the summertime but they grow really well right now,” he said. “We get inspired every day when that stuff comes in.”
To what does the chef attribute this new, elongated growing season? A dividend of global warming? Scientifically engineered vegetables? The answer is, none of the above. It is the cooperative effort of motivated individuals working towards a common goal – to get better food grown closer to us to our table.
There is some technology involved. Some local farmers employ climate- controlled, small greenhouses made of lightweight material that facilitates portability. But the new local agriculture depends just as much upon the farmers and producers having a different point of view.
Bolin insists as much as possible that no ingredient in his kitchen be frozen. “We like to have control,” he said. “Those extreme temperatures in the freezer can damage cells in fresh foods. We know if we are making a fresh stock, if we have some extra and we can freeze it, we know when we made it. It’s labeled and dated [in our freezer]. We know what went into it.” This philosophy has been the mother of invention when a farmer has offered an unusual item.
Butternut squash is fairly ubiquitous these days, but Bolin likes to visit area farms to see what else is available. He happened upon a great spaghetti squash called Long of Naples. The squash weighed in at nearly 40 pounds.
Bolin asked the farmer to transport the over 4-foot-long squash back to Cook and Brown. “It was a monster!” he laughed. The chef made use of the giant squash for days on end. “I treated it like a protein,” he recalled. “We literally butchered it apart.”
Bolin created large, round “steaks” from the bright, orange vegetable, roasted and served as a dish for two with condiments alongside such as pickled peppers, whipped local feta cheese and olive tapenade. For a weekend special, the chef served it as an entree with brown butter, capers and braised greens. “We treated it as the star of the show instead of just a side dish,” he enthused. For those who may think that Bolin’s restaurant is vegetarian, he points out his luncheon specialty of red chili-and-buttermilk fried chicken and waffles.
Hope Street is fast becoming a “foodie row.” Businesses vital to those patrons in pursuit of culinary happiness have also opened their doors recently on the street. Owner-operated shops specializing in kitchen utensils and cooking equipment as well as an olive-oil and vinegar-tasting bar have made their appearance recently in the neighborhood.
The street is gaining a reputation as a destination within the culinary destination of Providence, recently named by the online readers of Travel + Leisure as the No. 1 food city in America.
Bolin is doing his part to spread the word. He recently returned from a guest chef appearance – but without the 40-pound squash – in the test kitchens of Bon Appetit magazine in New York City. •


Bruce Newbury’s food and wine talk radio show is heard Saturdays and Sundays locally on WPRV-AM 790, on radio throughout New England and on the TuneIn and iHeartRadio mobile applications. He can be reached at bruce@brucenewbury.com.

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