Know your farmer
Maybe I should buy my meat from Sysco or US Foods. Perhaps Butcher & Larder should open an account at Costco. I can talk to the folks at Aramark about stocking the place full of meat, produce, pastries and Starbuck’s coffee, some grab ‘n go sushi trays and Caesar salads. We can have a full display of just-add-water ‘gourmet all natural’ soups and shelves full of shelf stable beef demi-glace and chicken broth. Nameless, faceless soulless product.
When Allie and I opened our restaurant in 2008 the folks at Sysco gave us the full court press insisting that they understood our ‘concept’ and that they could offer us products that fit our ‘business model’ and save us money. After days of politely declining, I asked the gentleman if he could introduce me to the man raising the beef I would be buying. I asked if I could shake his hand and discuss the ins and outs of the operation. He said it would take some research and probably a trip to Nebraska, but he would try… I never heard from him again.
We opened The Butcher & Larder to bring our customers the wonderful cuts, and maybe some new ones, only available to them at restaurants, but more importantly, we wanted to offer a different experience. We set out to develop relationships with our community, our city, our neighbors and give them an insight, without soapboxing, into why what we do is so important to us. Working exclusively with whole animals isn’t easy, and we could, like we have seen in other restaurants and shops, put on a show with a whole pig here, a lamb there and a lot of hype while cutting open vacuum-sealed pork loins and lamb racks, rib eyes and filet medallions.
So why is it so important to us? Watch Food Inc. That will help explain it. Read Michael Pollan- that will help. My usual quick answer is that besides the socioeconomic importance of eating real food and knowing it’s provenance, it just plain ol’ tastes better. It is more delicious than the other stuff. But for us as butchers, chefs, business owners and people, it is the relationships. The human connection. The visits to the farms. Perhaps it is too romantic a sentiment, but I sleep better knowing that every week I will shake the hands of the people raising the animals I cut before I help them unload their trucks.
Our customers talk to us and we get to know them. They like what we do and why we do it, and feel good bringing our goods home to their friends and family. We too are customers and choose to buy from people like Frank Morgan of Q7 Ranch. We understand what he does and why he does it knowing there are cheaper, easier, faster ways to raise cattle. We feel, and hopefully pass on to our customers that Frank’s beef more than just a meal, but a visceral connection to him and his ranch.
Last night I was informed that Frank Morgan, our beef farmer, passed away. I was saddened, and offered condolences to his wife and family and asked to be kept abreast of any services, memorials, etc., but the breadth of the loss didn’t hit until I walked into my shop. Surrounded by Frank’s beef I was reminded not that I didn’t get to say goodbye, but that I will never be again able to say hello and shake his hand as he hands me a beef chuck.
JC
January 25, 2012 1:29pm
Great post and good to read some of your thoughts. In a world that sometimes feels to big, a place like your butcher shop helps make it feel a little more homely and tasty as well.
Daniel
January 25, 2012 1:38pm
Rob, thanks so much for this post and your thoughts, they are truly inspiring. I am very sorry to hear about your loss, I know I had the pleasure of cooking with some beautiful beef neck bones from your shop earlier this year, it is good to know there is that kind of connection and maybe at most a couple of people touched it before taking them home.
John
January 25, 2012 2:19pm
Well said Rob. Truer words couldn’t be said. Sorry for the loss both within the Morgans and Butcher & Larder families’.
Tatiana
January 25, 2012 2:43pm
So sorry for this loss… Thank you for what you do. And especially thank you for how you do it. My cooking has not been the same since we met. Lucky me.
Jen Berman
January 25, 2012 2:44pm
I don’t believe a more appropriate tribute to your friend could be written. thank you.
Vic
January 25, 2012 3:11pm
Truer words have never been written. This should resonate with everyone. Well done Rob.
Donna OShaughnessy
January 25, 2012 7:40pm
Rob, you don’t know how much that means to THIS farmer. We don’t currently sell to you and we didn’t know Mr Morgan but when our restaurants and private customers, my blog followers as well as those who buy direct from us off the farm, take the time to say thank you…it is worth millions to us. I am sure the Morgan family appreciated your kind words very much
Matt
January 25, 2012 8:31pm
Frank was a wonderful man and a true champion of those trying to do good with food. He was a man with convictions and made his craft a model of what this industry should be. He will be greatly missed. At a time like this Q7 needs more support than ever. To lose the proprietor AND the business would be devastating.
tony d
January 25, 2012 9:10pm
thanks for the story – wouldn’t have known.
C. Turner
January 25, 2012 9:39pm
Well said my friend….speechless….! Frank’s charm and spirit will be missed in the days to come. His pride and dedication to raising cattle is a rarity in this world. I also will miss not getting to say hello, or to pick up the phone and hear Frank’s voice asking some random question. I will miss the small talk, jokes, and silliness Frank and I shared before getting to the business at hand. Rob is correct. We could just settle for pre-packaged, pre-cut, and processed foods. We could just put on a show, but then we would have never met Frank. We would never have built a friendship, or a common understanding and mutual respect of the bounties of this planet. There is a great feeling at the end of the day knowing the pride, respect, and hard work it takes to bring quality meats to our customers. Frank Morgan understood this too. Somehow I feel cutting open a case of factory farmed “always tender” beef ribs just wouldn’t offer the same feeling……
Theresa Nesbitt
January 30, 2012 1:31pm
I am so sad right now reading about Frank’s sudden death. I just spoke to him a couple weeks ago about a future collaboration. I hope that more of us will carry the on the torch of his mission. It’s so important. Frank had more integrity than anyone I ever met. It just came off him waves. I can’t believe he is gone. He seemed like the kind of guy who would be giving hell when he was 100. Tonight I value my own life and I will help pursue his vision. Thanks for this wonderful tribute.
Victor Santiago
January 31, 2012 12:49am
Great post. Hopefully guys like Frank aren’t a dying breed. I admire your passion for great ingredients and for deciding to dedicate yourself to bringing them to us the old fashioned way. The right way.
david garr
February 17, 2012 7:09pm
Thank you for trying to do the right thing for the public.
I am scared for my family at times in this profit at any cost world
we live in – Your efforts are appreciated and the movement is growing
back towards the perfect circle of the small diverse farms.
Keep pushing and and being thought leaders in this important space.