5 Starter
things chefs consider when crafting a farm-to-table menu What it takes to keep things fresh in the kitchen. By Tessa Kauppila Designed by Gretchen Raedle
There’s a lot that goes into curating a restaurant’s menu. But when working with seasonal, farm-fresh ingredients, there are a few more considerations restaurateurs keep in mind.
Let the ingredients inform the menu
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Seasonality is nonnegotiable
Most restaurants that boast a farm-to-table menu operate strictly within seasons, with few exceptions. Menus have to be updated frequently based on the local produce that’s available at a given time, which chefs are informed of on a weekly basis. At The Spoke & Bird in Pilsen and the South Loop, some items even change every few days, like their seasonal tartine made with smaller quantities of special local produce.
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For Ethan Pikas, co-owner and executive chef of Cellar Door Provisions in Logan Square, it’s important to find a presentation technique that best suits the produce for each dish on his rotating weekly menu. “I might already have a traditional dish in mind that I want to do a spin on, but I always let the ingredients inform what we serve rather than impose a structure on those ingredients,” Pikas said. At Wood in Boystown, there is a focus on peak season, local produce and house-butchered meats from responsible Illinois suppliers. Executive Chef Devin Kreller is moved by farmers’ bounties. This is evident in his thoughts on ramps, a wild onion native to the Chicagoland area. “I see the menu and the plating of the food as a piece of art,” Kreller said. “The plate and your mind is a blank canvas and the inspiration should be this farmer’s beautiful foraged ramps that are only available for a couple of weeks. How many ways can I feature them in different dishes to get people excited about them?”