By Michael J. Crumb
DES MOINES, Iowa – Gardens have been named the hottest trend in restaurants this year as more chefs involved with the eat local food movement grow their own tomatoes, herbs and other produce.
Several restaurants in the Chattanooga area have their own gardens, producing herbs and vegetables used in their dishes. Restaurants in the Bluff View Art District – including Rembrandt’s, Back Inn Cafe and Tony’s – use a common garden near Veteran’s Bridge which is filled with fresh herbs.
A third of the 2,000 chefs surveyed by the National Restaurant Association named gardens the top trend. Chris Moyer, who leads sustainability programs for the group, said it costs restaurants less to grow their own produce than to buy it elsewhere and have it shipped. It also gives them more control over quality, he said.
“It lets them offer things people are looking for, and a growing number of people are looking for that locally grown type of fare,” Moyer said.
But Moyer said independent restaurants tend to be the ones with gardens because they have the flexibility to adjust their menus with what’s in season.
Moyer said most restaurants start with small gardens in which they grow a few basics, such as lettuces, tomatoes, peppers and herbs. It’s rare for them to grow everything they need because weather limits the growing season and big gardens take up staff time and space few restaurants can afford, he said.