Chatting with Minnesota Cooks about The Farmer and the Chef, their new cookbook

Since 2003, Minnesota Cooks has worked to connect farmers and culinary businesses as a program created by Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU), a grassroots general farm organization. It is devoted to celebrating and cultivating the partnerships between Minnesota’s dedicated family farmers and talented chefs, cooks and restaurant owners who feature farm-fresh foods on their menus.

“The idea that farms and restaurants could work together directly to support and help each other succeed was still far from mainstream back in 2003, but that didn’t stop Minnesota’s innovative food and farming communities from galvanizing and forging powerful business relationships, resulting in a new food system for our state revolving around local foods. Since its inception, Minnesota Cooks’ mission is to emphasize the importance of supporting locally grown and made-in-Minnesota foods and products and help grow local food markets. Throughout our 17 years we’re proud to have highlighted over 150 farms and 150 restaurants, bakeries, wineries, and other businesses committed to local food in Minnesota Cooks.”

We sat down (virtually) with Claudine Arndt, Minnesota Cooks’ program manager to learn about their latest endeavor and perhaps one of the most ambitious to celebrate local culinary efforts, their book The Farmer and the Chef.

1. Where did the idea to write a book come from for Minnesota Cooks and what was the process of preparing it?

The Minnesota Cooks Team had discussed publishing a cookbook for several years, given that we had a pretty impressive cache of recipes from chefs submitted during our years of highlighting farm-to-table partnerships in Minnesota Cooks. Then, serendipitously, Globe Pequot Press, a division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, reached out to us and wanted to partner.

To prepare, we had to sort through the hundreds of recipes that had been submitted throughout the years and make decisions about which recipes to include (we were limited to 75-100). Then we hired recipe testers to test all of the recipes to make sure they would work for the home cook (since all the recipes were submitted by chefs or restaurant cooks). Since we also wanted farmers to be highlighted throughout the book, we then identified close to twenty farmers whose stories we wanted to tell throughout the book. Once they were identified, they were interviewed and their stories were written. There's a lot more, including deciding how to organize the material and taking a ton of new photographs, but those are the main points!

2. As vaccinations are being widely distributed and restrictions are easing back, what steps can consumers take to further support small businesses?

Consumers can help by being conscious of where they spend their dollars, choosing to spend their dollars directly with farmers at a farmers market, with a CSA, online on farmers websites, or by choosing local products at coops and grocery stores. Additionally, consumers can choose to spend their dollars with businesses that support farmers, like the restaurants and bakeries featured in our book that are still in business (we also have a farm-to-table directory online at minnesotacooks.org listing all of our farm and restaurant participants still in business).

3. What has been the impact of Minnesota Cooks and the partnerships you've built with “family farmers and talented chefs, cooks, and restaurant owners” thus far? What do you hope to do more of?

We're created more awareness among consumers around the importance of a strong local foods system and we've helped connect many chefs and farmers - one of our favorite things to do! Foster relationships!

4. Will the book be available in local bookshops?

The book is already widely available wherever books are sold - the big, obvious stores and also many small independent shops around the state like Cream & Amber in Hopkins, Red Balloon in St. Paul, Honey & Rye Bakehouse in St Louis Park, all Lakewinds co-ops, Split Rock Lighthouse gift shop, Clearview General Store in Grand Marais, and many more. Please shop locally, when you can!

And stay tuned for Farmers Kitchen + Bar, a restaurant owned and operated by MFU and its members in the historic Mill District neighborhood of Minneapolis. The restaurant will be open daily serving breakfast, lunch and supper and will feature a selection of fresh grab-and-go items, products from local makers, and farm-fresh produce, eggs, meats and more. Farmers Kitchen + Bar plans to connect their guests to local family farmers by bringing the food produced and grown throughout the great agricultural state of Minnesota to their plates.

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