As Executive Chef at the University of Minnesota’s Campus Club, Beth Jones knows the exact ingredients for whipping up a fabulous event menu—local and seasonal foods. As the trend towards organic and sustainable events continues to grow in popularity, Beth offers advice to planners on serving truly savory and delicious meals that guests will rave about long after the event has ended.
Q. What’s the advantage of using local and seasonal foods in your menu?
A. For three years, I worked as a chef at Lucias where we used foods grown or raised locally, and I noticed that the flavors were outstanding. Once you know how good really fresh ingredients can be, you can’t go back to foods that have spent weeks being shipped across the country.
Another wonderful part of buying local is the personal connections we make and the knowledge that we’re helping the local economy and family farms.
Q. What’s the difference between “natural” and “organic” foods?
A. Anyone can say they sell “whole” or “natural” foods, but there are no standards for that. In order to be truly organic, they must be inspected by agencies. (Organic certification comes from USDA-approved state, non-profit, and private agencies.) The farmers must provide documentation that the seeds, fertilizers and everything touching the food has been handled in a truly organic way.
Many of the farms we buy from are not certified organic, but are “beyond organic,” meaning they have higher standards than what agencies require.
Q. How do guests respond to organic and local foods?
A. When you have a story to tell about your food, people are interested. It’s fun for us at the University to say our vegetables are grown two miles away at the University Organic Farm in St. Paul. Plus, it supports our community at the University, as well as in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Also, we put out place cards with the food describing where it comes from. It shows that the food is local and fresher and makes the event look good. People are a lot savvier about things like this these days.
Every day, we get questions about the food and ingredients, mostly, “where can I buy this?” People are excited about it.
Q. What should planners who want organic or local food served at their event ask the chef?
A. Ask for specific names and locations of farms, farmers or companies with whom they’re working. Then look them up online. Think about when foods come into season. For example, in August, heirloom tomatoes; in the fall, heirloom squash, in June, it’s rhubarb, raspberries and strawberries. Go to farmers’ markets and see what’s fresh and in season. Talk to those farmers and ask what’s good right now. If your event is three months from now, ask the chef what’s going to be good then.
Q. Is it more expensive to buy organic or local?
A. It really doesn’t have to be, you just have to watch your pricing. When we started buying local, our food costs dropped 7%. If you’re careful with your product -- how it’s used and not over-prepping -- you can make it work. A lot of times, it’s cheaper.
Beth Jones is a native of Minnesota and has been Executive Chef at the Campus Club for the last two years. She developed her passion for local foods and seasonal ingredients while working at Lucia’s Restaurant in Minneapolis, and has carried that interest over to her current position. The Campus Club is a private club for faculty, staff and alumni of the University of MN, and is the premier on-campus event center, specializing in local, sustainable food.
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