Social graces have always dictated that we're not supposed to talk politics at the dinner table, and we can't tell you how many food fights (and thus, dry-cleaning bills) we've had to endure to really appreciate the wisdom behind that sentiment. But when it comes to what's on our plates, we think it fair game to talk fair trade. We're not the only ones: in honor of Fair Trade Month, several local chefs came together on Wednesday, October 21, for
Eat, Drink & Be Fair, a
Top Chef-style cook-off staged at the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter in South Boston. They competed to create the best dish using Fair Trade Certified ingredients, whose production and trade must adhere to strict economic, social, and environmental criteria. We at
STUFF chatted with some of the participants, asking why the issue is important to them and what else they're doing to stay as green and wholesome as the veggies they serve up.
Jay Silva
Chef Jay Silva of Bambara (25 Edwin H. Land Boulevard, Cambridge, 617.868.4444) says fair trade first became personal to him about 10 years ago, when he was running a restaurant on Cape Cod. Much of his kitchen staff hailed from countries like Colombia, Peru, and Guatemala, and they shared stories of unfair wages and exploitation. "You'd hear their plight about picking coffee for 20 bucks a month," remembers Silva. "That's what opened my eyes to the issue." Since then, he's been especially conscientious about where and how he buys his food, striving to rely on local sources when possible: today, Bambara sources about a third of its ingredients from Verrill Farm in Concord, Massachusetts. Nor do Silva's efforts stop at the edible. Housed by Hotel Marlowe, Bambara runs in accordance with the Kimpton Hotel Group's EarthCare program, a comprehensive approach that covers everything from printing menus with soy ink to recycling excess cooking oils into bio-diesel fuel. It's a huge undertaking, but Silva says it all boils down to a basic premise: "Be aware of what you buy, what you do, and the impact that it has on people."
Will Gilson
Having grown up on a farm himself, Will Gilson doesn't think twice about thinking fair - he's so detail-oriented, even the guest checks at Garden at the Cellar (991 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.230.5880) come with fair-trade chocolate. But he admits it's hard to please all his guests all the time. "Hungry diners shouldn't have to worry about the political choices they make when they order," he says. "It can be really difficult. One person's fair trade is not another person's sustainable, and one person's sustainable usually isn't local." So he tries to balance everyone's priorities using common culinary sense. "If I pay a fisherman off the dock cash for a fish ... that seems pretty fair and sustainable to me." Even better, Gilson spent the last year raising his own pigs ("That was a blast!") and continuing his commitment as a self-described "recycling Nazi" who churns out about 15 tons of compost each year.
Richard Garcia
Born in Guatemala, Richard Garcia of Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro (201 Patriot Place, Foxboro, 508.203.9463) says he "saw and heard first-hand how the fair-trade movement was intended to help local farmers and their families." His grandfather, a Spanish immigrant, owned a small supermarket chain in Guatemala and shared stories about how poorly farmers were treated and how little money they were able to take home. Now, Boston football fans making a pilgrimage to Patriot Place in the new season can be assured that Garcia takes a pro-active approach as a restaurateur, buying fair-trade and local ingredients whenever he can. And he wants to emphasize that's good for the global economy, not just the individual farmer. "It [fair trade] is not about the money going into the farmer's pockets ... it's about the money going into the farmer's community," he elaborates. "Think about it: more money to the farmer means the farmer can put more money into his crops and make a more consistent product, letting me give guests a higher-quality product that supports a developing country's needs. Making their economy stronger makes our economy stronger."
