Review Bainbridge Island
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2013 | Vol. 113, No. 32 | www.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.com | 75¢
Root of the problem
SETTLEMENT OFFER IN LAWSUIT FALLS THROUGH
Wasabi farmer breaks ground on Bainbridge Island
Bonkowski, Ward and Lester refuse to turn over computers
BY CECILIA GARZA Bainbridge Island Review
Wasabi, as most people know it, comes in the form of a green paste on the edge of our Happy Hour sushi platter. It’s spicy, salty with a little sweet zest, but mostly straight hot. What most people don’t know, however, is that this paste that turns up at sushi bars isn’t really wasabi. It’s typically horseradish, mustard, food coloring and water. Real wasabi is hard to come by. Even wasabi farmers in Japan have thinned out their production. This is what farmer, scientist and island native Cathy Chadwick is looking to change in the U.S. with Fresh Wasabi Farms. “Horseradish has one reaction when the air hits it: hot. Boom!” Chadwick said. “But when you hit wasabi, wasabi gets that same thing, but it has an equal reaction which is a carbohydrate: sugar.” With real wasabi, one enjoys the vegetable freshness of sweet and hot at the same time. “The wasabi that you get at sushi bars is ketchup; not bad stuff,” Chadwick said. “But not at all like a farm-fresh tomato.” Over the past few decades in Japan, she explained, farmers have gone out of the wasabi business because it’s too risky and difficult to grow. Also, Japanese farmers know if they stick to vegetables the government will support them no matter if they have a good growing season. Chadwick comes from a Bainbridge family with multiple generations of farmers. But as the
Photo courtesy of Cathy Chadwick
The wasabi plant still in the beginning stages of growth. At maturity, Cathy Chadwick of Fresh Wasabi Farms will use the root to sell for its spicy-sweet flavors.
Cathy Chadwick daughter of a diplomat, she spent much of her childhood in Asian countries, including Japan. She returned to the U.S. in time for college where she completed her undergraduate degree at University of California-Davis in soil and water science. After another stint in Japan for two years, she
then made her way to Washington State University in Pullman to complete her master’s degree in agronomy. There, under Dr. Thomas Lumpkin in Asian crop studies, Chadwick put together a proposal for growing wasabi in the U.S. Her graduate work gained support from the state and recognition from wholesalers in Japan. “My intention the whole time,” Chadwick said, “was to bring to Washington state something that would make agriculture more viable.” Washington, said Chadwick, just so happens to have the perfect climate for growing the spicy-sweet root.
She began by working in several greenhouses throughout western Washington before she brought the plant to Bainbridge Island where her grandfather spent years growing rhododendrons before her. For the past few years she has worked to build up nutritious soil and set up shop on what was formerly the Dosono family raspberry farm. Still, despite her upbringing and extensive background in the crop, the island has proven itself a difficult place to start a commercial farm. Chadwick has hit wall after wall to develop her land since she began making major changes in April. First, she was notified by the city that she needed to update her stormwater management plan to include the gravel and greenhouses being brought onto the land. Second, considering the amount of gravel needed, she also needed to submit a grade and fill permit. Both after-the-fact permit requests would ensure her farm controlled potential erosion. Moreover, confusion with building permits and lot coverage requirements required Chadwick’s crew to give in to several do-overs on the site. “There’s so many laws on development, on all these things which interact with farming that we can’t possibly do,” Chadwick said. Several years ago, Chadwick explained, she attended a farming meeting. One of her friends and a fellow farmer stood up and asked a state representative if there
Three city council members at the center of a lawsuit against the city of Bainbridge Island have refused to turn over their personal computers so the hard drives can be searched for public records. The denial has put a spike through a potential settlement between the city and two Bainbridge citizens, Althea Paulson and Robert Fortner, on the lawsuit. Paulson and Fortner filed suit in Kitsap County Superior Court earlier this month after the city didn’t release public records that the pair have sought for more than two months. In the lawsuit, Dan Mallove, the attorney for Paulson and Fortner, noted the city requires council members to use the email accounts provided by the city to correspond about city and council business, and restricts council members
turn to root | A12
turn to lawsuit | A11
Lawsuit heads to court Friday BY BRIAN KELLY
Bainbridge Island Review
6425 NE Hidden Cove Rd
with OPEN HOUSE Sunday the 29th. You’ll think you’re visiting “Carmel by the Sea” when you discover this sophisticated bungalow, quietly situated behind gates & gardens and near beach access. Extensive rockery outlines stone patios & lofty landscape directing you to a stately carved wood & iron entrance door. Metal clad/wood mullion windows, heavy wood interior doors, European light fi xtures & cabinetry, iron railings & Rocky Mountain hardware throughout is reminiscent of how fi ne homes were built in the past.
Offered at $739,000
Maureen Buckley 206.947.7354
www.BuckleyRealEstate.com/Maureen