Campo at Los Poblanos

• WHO: Jonathan Perno, executive chef
• WHAT: A fine dining experience located on a historic organic farm in the Rio Grande Valley
• WHERE: 4803 Rio Grande Valley Boulevard, NW, Los Ranchos De Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, USA

“We have a seasonal menu and grow a lot of our produce and ingredients here on the farm – lavender, herbs, stone fruits, and vegetables. We also buy from local farmers, depending on the season. Many of the farmers who started here have moved on and now operate their own farms, so we take great pride in ordering from them and supporting their businesses. We work with many of them to grow pre-contracted crops to help make the relationship beneficial to all – grower and purchaser. All our staples are ordered through our local grocery cooperative, ensuring all money comes right back into the community.

“Being located on an organic farm, our sustainable practices become part of the hospitality experience for guests and visitors. Sustainability here really means being a great steward – to the land, architecture, culture and community.”

Events:

There are some great upcoming events at Campo at Los Poblanos celebrating our partnership with Hotel Emma.

Cooking demonstration with Guest Chef John Brand Join us for a cooking demonstration with Executive Chef Jonathan Perno and John Brand, Culinary Director at Hotel Emma in San Antonio, Texas. Drop by and meet these talented chefs, learn more about their process and sample a bite or two. Get the details here.

Los Poblanos Dining Series | Sunday Supper with Guest Chef John Brand This series will pay homage to our local ranchers, farmers, vintners, brewers and distillers who share in our culinary philosophy and understand that flavours and ingredients are as important as the environment and terroir they originate from. For tickets and further details click here.

To read more about Campo at Los Poblanos, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile page here.

Émeraude

• WHO: Amanda Hinds, owner/chef
• WHAT: A micro-region eatery focused on delivering the area’s best produce
• WHERE: 8616 New England Highway, Hampton, Queensland, Australia

“Émeraude’s ethos revolves around our micro-region, with the majority of our produce being sourced from this area. We are super passionate about looking after the smaller specialist producers, including some who are producing special crops specifically for our kitchen. We also take experimental, hybrid and heirloom produce whenever we are lucky enough to receive it. Our menus change as soon as we have something new – we believe that farmers set the menus, not the chefs –without the farmer we are nothing.

“Our food miles are extremely low with some producers even walking to deliver. We don't accept boxes or plastic – they go straight back to the farm to be re-utilized again and again."

Event:

In association with High Country Hamlets, Émeraude is hosting the Wisteria Long Lunch on Saturday 14 September. A long table food journey through the famous micro-region by the team at Émeraude. Click here for details and tickets.

To read more about Émeraude, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile page here.

Émeraude (Hampton, Queensland, Australia)

O.My

• WHO: Blayne Bertoncello, chef & Chayse Bertoncello, owner
• WHAT: Fully farm-focused degustation restaurant
• WHERE: 19-21 Woods Street, Beaconsfield, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

“We are most passionate about showing and teaching people the importance of nature – it’s so easily taken for granted. Our passion lies in a truthful, seasonal menu with an extremely strong no-waste approach. In our very unique, small dining area we are able to achieve a menu that has been 100 per cent grown on our farm ten minutes away. When we started growing all of our produce we realized how difficult it actually was. We serve anywhere between one hundred and sixty to one hundred and eighty people a week and we have two and a half acres of growing space. It meant that everything that we grew had to be used to its full potential – offcuts could not just be thrown in the bin, cucumbers that were not perfect were not put to the side. By restricting ourselves to only using what we grow, it has made us come up with unique ideas and has closed the gap between the farmer and chef.

“We consider the growing process as cooking, and when the vegetable comes to the kitchen it is merely the finishing stages of that cooking process. This approach ensures that with all the people involved it embeds a certain respect for the product that is best described as love. We love the food we serve, we love it so much that our guests can feel first, and then taste the love.

“Our approach means that we rarely have a menu the same as the day or week before. With a true seasonal menu, there isn’t much room for signature dishes that never change. When the season ends, so does the dish. Being completely reliant on nature has been the best way to open our minds, to a smarter and more sustainable way to live and cook. Nothing should be taken for granted in all kitchens and restaurants.”

To read more about O.My, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile page here.

O.My (Beaconsfield, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)

FARMbloomington

• WHO: Daniel Orr, chef/owner
• WHAT: Farm-to-table restaurant by Chef Daniel Orr
• WHERE: 108 East Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, Monroe, Indiana, USA

“Much of the food used at FARMbloomington is sourced from local neighbourhood and Indiana-based farmers. We also grow many of the herbs used in the summer months and we forage for wild herbs, greens, cattail pollen, and mushrooms during the warmer months. Many of these are then made into vinegars, sauces, chutneys, coulis and purées to be used all year long.

“We collect all green waste for compost which is then used on our raised-bed vegetable gardens and recycle all glass, tin, plastic, cardboard and paper. We also began a neighbourhood recycling initiative that has been successfully keeping items from the landfill for ten years.”

To read more about FARMbloomington, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile page here.

FARMbloomington (Bloomington, Monroe, Indiana, USA)

Song Kitchen

• WHO: YMCA NSW & Liz Mason, head chef
• WHAT: Good food for a great cause
• WHERE: 5/11 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

“Located at the southern end of Hyde Park, Song Kitchen is a place where you will find elegant and simple dishes with punchy Middle Eastern spices and fresh detailed Mediterranean flavours. Our mission is to create a menu which changes seasonally to include fresh, new flavours featuring the very best produce available.

“Owned by YWCA Australia, all restaurant proceeds go to supporting victims of domestic violence and other programs for women and children in the community.

“Good food, for a good cause.”

News:

Melbourne Cup 2019 Join Song Kitchen for a SILKS & SADDLES à la carte lunch with champagne and sweeps from 12pm, Tuesday 5th November, book here!

To read more about Song Kitchen, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile page here.

Song Kitchen (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia)

La Chassagnette

• WHO: Armand Arnal, chef
• WHAT: Organic & authentic cuisine made from the restaurant’s garden, local ingredients & products
• WHERE: Route du Sambuc, 13200 Arles, France

“Dishes at La Chassagnette are crafted with the daily harvest of vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs and aromatics – all grown according to the principals of organic farming in the restaurant’s impressive two-hectare garden and orchard. The garden is a passion that is shared by every staff member. Between the vegetable fields and orchards, some two hundred varieties of produce are harvested throughout the year. And since the garden is only a few dozen meters from the kitchen door, we work with fruit and vegetables harvested at the height of freshness and ripeness.”

To read more about La Chassagnette, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile page here.

La Chassagnette (Arles, France)

You ought'a know...

Congratulations to San Francisco's Foreign Cinema who are proudly celebrating twenty years on 19 September with an anniversary party! There will be Fellini, food, film, and frolicking entertainment. With proceeds going to a range of local charities, be sure to get involved. You can get your tickets and more information here.

OXO Tower's Thames River Beach Cleans

Staff of OXO Tower Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie have been regularly participating in beach cleans along the Thames River and right outside their door for the past year, advocating local groups and businesses to participate. This has allowed them to get hands-on with the problem of plastic pollution and understand how this is affecting the local environment. One beach clean served as a fundraiser for OXO’s charity partner Macmillan Cancer Support; participants received donations based on the amount of plastic collected with £1,785 being raised for Macmillan.

Several initiatives have been inspired by these beach cleans, such as the elimination of plastic straws and reduced use of plastic in the kitchens. This autumn, OXO will be launching a new exhibition showcasing art that explores the issues surrounding plastic pollution.

Volunteers for OXO Tower's Thames River beach clean