Farm To Menu Trends

Farm-to-table is not only a budding restaurant trend; It also helps nurture local economies. (NEWS)

Organic and locally-grown produce, traditionally only available to the general public through small farmers’ markets, is now being highly sought by restaurant patrons, too. As consumers become more and more conscious of the quality of food they’re putting in their bodies, they seek that higher standard of food when dining out. (CONTEXT)

Locally-grown food was the No. 1 choice on the top 10 list of menu trends, according to the National Restaurant Association. (SCOPE)

Oklahoma State agriculture student Macy Mertens, attributes the recent rise in food-consciousness to technology and the accessibility of information that comes along with it.

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“It shows that you can have plants at are edible yet equally pretty at the same time,” Stevens said.

In addition to the creation of the garden in 2013, Oklahoma State is practicing sustainability efforts on campus by adding multiple orange rain barrels around The Price Family Gardens to collect rain water.

Like OSU, many local farmers also participate in sustainable agriculture. Connie and Wayne Whitmore own Whitmore Farms, located a few miles southwest of Stillwater. They started farming more than 30 years ago and have, literally, grown their business from the ground up. “We do our best to be good stewards to the land,” Whitmore said. “We try to keep it economically profitable for us and sustainable for the people who are buying from us.”

Connie said they participate in six farmers’ markets per week, sell to multiple restaurants around Oklahoma and occasionally provide produce for local grocery stores.

“Down in Oklahoma City we sell to restaurants such as La Baguette, The Coach House, The Metro, The Deep Fork, The Wedge, and The Vast,” Whitmore

Through word-of-mouth between various chefs they had done business with, they were eventually able to expand into the Oklahoma City area.

One such restaurant that embraces the farm-to-table style is Whiskey Cake, near downtown Oklahoma City. Whiskey Cake receives a daily shipment of bread from La Baguette’s bakery, which is one of the restaurants the Whitmores deliver to.

The restaurant’s Oklahoma location is about to celebrate its 3-year anniversary. The general manager, James Bolet, came from Dallas to open up the Oklahoma franchise.

“Before we opened, we were here 6 months earlier, meeting with farmers,” Bolet said. “We always investigate and go meet with farmers to see who has what.”

The restaurant displays a long list on the wall to display to customers where each ingredient came from that day. Bolet said the chefs keep up a relationship with the farmers they work with.

Whiskey Cake also has a personal garden connected to the building. The small garden is home to herbs and produce such as tomatoes. A professional farmer tends the garden and the chefs have access to it whenever