Kara Mauer - Book Post #2
Growing a Farmer, by Kurt Timmermeister, continues to amaze me. Starting out with the vegetable farm while still maintaining his restaurant seems like it would have been an impossible task. However, Timmermeister was determined to understand the origin of his food, especially as the owner and chef where he prepares the food himself. Figuring that a vegetable farm was the easiest to pursue based on its easy and cheap nature, along with the absence of regulations from the government, Kurt began his journey. Eventually, Kurt turned his focus on livestock and raw milk from cows. This wasn't as easy because of the liability. Balancing his city life with the life of a farmer eventually took a toll on him, with the standards for both jobs ranging in completely different levels. By 2003, he became a full time farmer, working in all livestock and vegetables. To keep his farm afloat, he cooks for guests on Sundays.
Kurtwood Farms is an extremely inspirational story. A city chef turned farmer is the epitome of a humble change. Most big-time chefs in a big city have no idea and don't necessarily care about the rotation of how ingredients make their way to their kitchen. However, Kurt decided that it was time to figure his own way. In some ways, this was extremely crazy and risky. He risked everything he had on starting this farm. Making a 180 degree change like that is something that most people would not do. If I think about my own life, I don't know if I would be able to make a huge change like that. However, the story is inspiring enough for me to want to pursue passions in my life that I wouldn't normally risk.
Hi Kara, I also read Growing a Farmer and I found it to be equally as inspirational. After finishing the book, I am also amazed by the courage Kurt had to begin his farm and transform the dining experience. You brought in an interesting perspective discussing whether you'd be wiling to make a dramatic change like that in your own life. This book has similarly inspired me to want to follow my passions and take risks.
ReplyDeleteTo me, becoming a farmer if you're a chef makes perfect sense. You would have all control over the quality of your ingredients, thus the most control over the flavor of your food. However, after reading your passage, you made me realize I completely neglected the immense time it takes to do either job. Now, I couldn't imagine being able to feasibly work both of those positions, so we are in agreement, it is definitely inspiring.
ReplyDeleteHi Kara. I definitely find farming to be under appreciated. Just recently I was thinking about how privileged we are in terms of our food availability. Crops are normally seasonal and yet we have access to many different produce year-round without really acknowledging it. It's amazing how the smallest things in our lives have such grand overall impacts. I find the shift in this book interesting just because he was a chef who farmed a little bit, but now he is a farmer who cooks a bit.
ReplyDeleteHi Kara! This sounds like a very inspirational story and I'm interested in reading the book myself now. I would never have imagined that going from being a big city chef to a farmer would be so taxing or risky. I really commend him for actually caring about where his food comes from and not simply turning a blind eye; I'm sure it would've been much easier to continue his career as a chef without ever really thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteHi Kara, It is nice to know there are chefs out there that truly care how their ingredients make it to their kitchen. It truly shows he actually cares for his customers and wants the best quality. I hope more chefs are like this nowadays.
ReplyDeleteHey Kara, this book sounds very interesting based on your post. I took a class last year where we talked a lot about sustainable farming, including the factors that disincentivize large commercial farmers from converting their operations to ones that are more sustainable and helpful to the environment. Huge respect to Kurt for taking the huge leap of faith necessary to start his own farming operation.
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