{ THE ESSENTIAL CAPE MAY OUTDOOR SUMMER FOOD GUIDE }
beach plum farm
J
aime Alvarez grew up working on his parents’ 300-acre farm in Mexico, until he moved to the States — without knowing a work of English — at the age of 15. For a long time, he worked breaking horses and managing gardens in Princeton and West Hampton, but for the last three years, he’s been managing Beach Plum Farm in West Cape May. This idyllic little piece of the planet — 62 acres strong — provides most of the produce for dishes and drinks served at The Blue Pig, The Rusty Nail, and The Ebbitt Room restaurants, all located less than two miles away. “I’m very happy here,” Jaime said. “I consider this home now.” Part of the reason he’s so comfortable, Jaime says, is that he loves interacting with the many guests who visit the farm — so many guests, he tells us, that bike paths which weave throughout the property have recently been paved with ground-up oyster
shells to make the experience even more accessible. “People are always impressed here, and always trying to learn something new,” he said. “That’s the fun part.” Or the funny part, depending on who the guest is. One couple wouldn’t believe Jamie when he told them that the farm’s chickens were producing eggs for local restaurants. “He thought there was a mini factory doing that,” Jaime said, “until I told him, ‘You’re right, it is a factory. Let me show you the workers.’ Then I swung open the door of the chicken coop.” Since last season, farm visitors have been able to purchase these eggs, along with fresh produce, at the farm stand which overlooks the property’s herb garden. “Right now, we’re selling baby greens, arugula, baby lettuce, mixed greens, leeks, onions, lettuce, fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, herbs, and even honey which we’re harvesting,” Jaime said. “We pick it at 8:30 in the morning, and it’s in the stand by 10, which is great because vegetables are tastier and more nutritious the less time they spend out of the ground. If you buy from a grocery
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market, it will have been at least two weeks since they were picked.” Browse the offerings, and then purchase them at a counter made from a stillin-the-ground tree trunk. Or, buy a readymade sandwich for lunch — that egg salad is courtesy of Jaime’s “factory workers” — and enjoy it at one of the stand’s picnic tables with a homemade glass of lemonade or iced tea. And get a whiff of the lemon verbena growing nearby. It’s a sweet experience. Before you head home, say hello to the farm’s baby pigs and adorable piglets — expect to see 10 of the latter — which you can choose to feed if you wish. And be sure to say hello to Jaime, too, who will likely be hard at work tending to the land or misting his crops with a non-chemical bug repellant (soap, garlic, and cayenne pepper). “It’s rewarding to do this job,” he says, “because growing plants is like raising children. You can’t help but feel proud when they turn out.” Beach Plum Farm, located at 14 Stevens Street, is open every day. The stand is open on Saturdays from 8am to 1pm.