purveyors
By Pamela Cuthbert
All Wheat, No Chaff From Hastings County comes Red Fife flours that’s fit for the Royals The Red Fife flour from CIPM Farm certainly certainly does get around. The certifiedorganic wheat, grown and milled on the Hastings County property owned and run by first-generation farmer Patricia Hastings, has been served to Prince Charles in Toronto, the Queen at Rideau Hall, the Royal newlyweds this past summer, athletes at the Vancouver Olympics, fans who telephone in long-distance orders and, most of all, to hundreds of diners from Ottawa to Guelph and many points in between. For a local sample, Evelyn’s Crackers act as a sort of canvass for the various rich, whole grains supplied by CIPM: Red Fife for the Slightly Seedy Cracker, Oatcakes, Rose Cardamom Shortbread and Lavender Shortbread; Rye in the Currant in the Rye Cracker; Spelt for the Dal ones; Buckwheat for the Saw Buck Digestives and Red Fife Wheat Bran for Muesli. Edmund Rek, who co-owns the cracker company with his wife and partner Dawn Woodward, describes their product as “a way to wrap your head around the localfoods movement.” Just as remarkable as the product is the tale of how CIPM came to be. Hastings is a mother of four grown children, a musician by profession, the church organist—and “never had given a moment’s thought to being a farmer.” Yet evidently the stars were aligned. Her daughter’s friend, Dirk Alterhoffer, a young student visiting from Germany, was trained in organic farming and hoping to find a farm in Ontario to practice his skills. He proposed that Hastings buy a
piece of land and he would work it. And then a property nearby, which had been abandoned for decades, went on the market at the very moment Hastings walked past the realtor’s office in her village. “Dirk and I agreed he would stay for one year and get the farm started and then visit from time to time.” Fifteen years later, and ten years since Hastings first purchased a bag of Red Fife, CIPM has 400 acres of crop production and its own on-site mill. She does most of the work with assistance from a miller, neighbouring farmers and seasonal help. “It’s absolutely fascinating work. And there’s so much to know and also so much we’ve forgotten
and Culinarium. One of the distinctive characteristics of CIPM is a focus on heritage varieties. “My theory was that since I was growing organically, I should try local varieties. David Fife’s farm here is geographically close to my farm, so I tried Red Fife.” Hastings experimented, growing modern and ancient varieties in tandem, and observed the results. Under the organic system, the yields were much the same in good years but in years of poor weather conditions the older varieties did much better. Personally, I’ve been a fan since my first tastes of nutty Red Fife bread back in the day of the JK Wine Bar. Now, a loaf of Connell’s
There’s so much to know and so much we’ve forgotten about with bread and flour and grains. about with bread and flour and grains.” Local chefs and bakers turn to CIPM for superior quality, freshness—yes, fresh is key— and the wholesomeness of the product. “I’m selling freshly milled flour that’s milled on Thursday and delivered on Friday,” explains Hastings. She cites Jamie Kennedy as her first client. Today, the list includes baker Jeff Connell at Woodlot, who credits her grains for a good deal of the full flavour in his robust breads. The distinctive CIPM flour bags can also be found in the kitchens of Ballygiblin’s in Carleton Place, Kingston’s Pan Chancho and numerous locales in Toronto including St John’s Bakery, Keriwa, The Healthy Butcher
light Red Fife, a staple in my home, might be devoured within hours of landing on the kitchen counter. One thing these pleasures have in common: they fuel rather than tire, even when eaten with gusto. Hastings describes a similar experience. “My husband can’t believe it, but I can eat practically a whole loaf of Jeff (Connell)’s bread with some cheese and salad and then head out into the field for a full day’s work. It’s so delicious. And really, it’s about as close to healthy as you can get.” CB Pamela Cuthbert, a food writer and editor, is published in Macleans, Saveur, The Edible City, Slow Food Almanac and elsewhere. She’s on a hunt for good food suppliers.
Early Spring 2012
9