Cookie's Monster

publication date: Apr 4, 2008

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author/source: Robert Bickell

Bickell's Blog
April 4, 2008

"A revolution in how we eat means respecting food and the people who produce it."
      - Alice Waters

Chef Cookie Till might be the second coming of Alice Waters. As the chef/owner of a wildly successful restaurant called Steve & Cookie's in Margate, New Jersey, she understands the importance of healthy, locally-grown ingredients, especially in an area so tuned into the subject. There is a major effort from the State of New Jersey called "Jersey Fresh" and the idea is to promote the freshness and quality of some 10,000 New Jersey farms that produce and harvest products. Literally hundreds of New Jersey restaurants are involved and local farmer's markets play a gigantic role in this campaign.

Alice Waters is the founder of the legendary Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California. She is a product of the tumultuous 1960’s, and was a student at Berkeley. It was a time of protests and civil unrest, but her cause became something a tad less violent. She was all about improving our food culture and the health of our children. The lady actually wants every school in America to have a vegetable garden, and she wants every child to discover the taste of fresh food.

She was instrumental in developing New American Cuisine, and her real success was in inspiring a devotion to seasonal cooking and the use of local organic ingredients and sustainable agriculture. She connected with the local farmers and started a movement that chefs all over the country are now embracing. It all has so much to do with the focus on ingredients and again, working with the local farmers.

Cookie Till is most definitely on the same page as Ms. Waters, and so much so that she helped organize an effort in Margate to bring a farmer's market to this town for ten weeks during the busy summer season. Cookie joined forces with several local restaurants including Tomatoe's, Knife & Fork, Gallagher's, Hannah G's, 4th on 1st, Sea Salt, and Sage. To help make this happen, she even offered the space on her property as the market location. The market will run on Thursdays only, and the reaction from the farmers, as well as so many local restaurants and key officials in the community has been understandably positive. It's just another creative and meaningful way to bring more interest and more people to this popular seashore community. And, like so many farmer's markets, it's something vitally interesting to children.

Three years ago, Cookie introduced a project at the Tighe School in Margate called (appropriately enough) "The Children's Garden". The teacher named to champion this effort, Jessica Cuevas, was named teacher of the year by the Department of Agriculture. The children love the garden and they are looking forward to learning more by participating in the market selling peppers and eggplant and getting up close and personal with area farmers. The money they make at the market would be earmarked for the FoodBank in nearby Pleasantville.

While Cookie should be handed the keys to the city for such a noble and positive project, instead she is handed a letter from an attorney advising her that the farmers are not welcome in Margate. Howard Seiden, the owner of the nearby Casels Market is not happy. He pays his taxes and supports this community fifty-two weeks a year. The summer is obviously the busiest time of the year, and he sees the market as unfair competition.

To my way of thinking, you can't build enough parks, baseball fields and farmer's markets. And yes, there should be a garden in every school. I would also suggest that when the doctors in America are busy treating our children for a problem as insidious and preventable as juvenile diabetes, it's safe to say that something has gone very wrong. We have succeeded in becoming the leader in the world of medicine while becoming the un-healthiest nation on the planet. Teaching children where their food comes from is a step in the right direction.

I'm not worried about Mr. Seiden and the possibility that a farmer's market in Margate might mean Casel's will sell a few less canelopes. There is something much more important happening here and I have to believe that the community leaders will find a way to get this market open. Margate is part of America, and if you will forgive me, a farmer's market is as American as apple pie.

One thing is for certain - you can't have enough Alice Waters and Cookie Tills, and there is at least one too many Howard Seiden.

Talk Back:
What's your take on this local farmer's market issue?
Post your comments using the feedback box below.

Comments

Anonymous

This is a tough one. I would have to assume that Cookie's efforts were rooted in the fact that Casell's did not sell local produce. As a restauranteur, paying rent and taxes, it is hard to imagine competition - even only one day a week, that does not have to conform.

Our community allows retailers to participate in the local farmer's market if they sell only locally produced goods. Essentially you end up with a curated group, open on Sundays until 1pm, that gives us great community spirit and dialog. It's a great system, that eventually leads consumers to traditional retailers seeking the farmer's products that they discovered at the Sunday market. The best of both worlds.

 

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