adam wickham
JOHN DUYN: CARLTON FARMS
The president and CEO supplies much of the pork and beef that is served in MAC restaurants. Portland is a pork town, and often the braised pork belly, bacontopped pastry or maple-brine pork chop you order in a restaurant hails from Carlton Farms. President and CEO, MAC member John Duyn, traces the company’s roots back to the sausage business his grandfather, father and uncle ran in the 1950s, Powell Valley Meats in southeast Portland. When his grandfather retired, his father and uncle segued into a meat-cutting business and from there, Carlton Farms evolved into the third-generation family business it is today. “I worked as most young men do in summers, driving trucks and helping with the meat processing,” says Duyn. He left Oregon to study accounting and marketing at Santa Clara University. After working in the Bay Area in California for four years, he missed the Pacific Northwest and the quality of life. “I was ready to leave the hustle and bustle of the big city and come back to Oregon,” he adds. When he returned to Portland, the fresh, local food movement was just beginning as chefs like Corey Schreiber, Greg Higgins and Philippe Boulot planted the seeds. “At that time there was nobody in a small business format that would create products that the local chefs wanted,” explains Duyn. “It was the perfect opportunity for me to establish a partnership with these chefs and build a quality product to their specifications.” Carlton Farms now partners with close to 10 different growers for their pork and Duyn visits each farm he works with throughout the year. “We’ve been doing business with most of the growers for 15 to 20 years,” says Duyn and most are second-generation farmers. “You need to take care of the producers, otherwise you don’t have product; and you need to take care of the processors, otherwise you don’t have anybody to harvest the animals,” he says. The company’s focus is on consistent quality. “If it’s not something we would take home and feed to our family, or feed to our friends, we are not going to sell it,” says Duyn. “It just needs to be that simple. That is what sets us apart.” Carlton Farms products, including beef procured from Wilson Cattle Company, are found in more than 500 restaurants across the state of Oregon.
His family legacy also lives on through Papa Jake’s Seasoning, a spice blend named for Duyn’s grandfather, Girard “Jake” Duyn, for small town farmer barbecues and celebrations. “The seasoning allows the flavor of the meat to shine through,” says Duyn. “You can use it on chicken, fish, beef and pork – we’ve even had people call us and say, ‘I absolutely love it on broccoli.’” When asked about a favorite pork dish, Duyn professes an affinity for all things pork, especially bacon and ham. “But as far as grilling, an inch-and-a-half thick bone-in pork chop on the grill is absolutely fabulous – juicy and tender as any steak,” he says. “And you pair it with an Oregon pinot noir, of course.”
CARLTON AT THE CLUB Carlton Farms makes their mark in MAC’s restaurants, particularly in the Men’s Bar, where they provide all of the steaks on the menu. In addition, Duyn, who is a longtime friend of Boulot, is providing an entire pig, smoked for 24 hours, for the club’s Beaujolais Nouveau event on Thursday, Nov. 21. “We work with John because he’s willing to select special dry-aged meat of the best quality,” Boulot says. “He’s also one of my hunting buddies.”
28 | The Wınged M |
October 2013