DECEMBER 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Organic farmer values food


education Farmers and chefs paired up to raise $61,000 at Farms to Forks


by RONDA PAYNE VANCOUVER – Growing


Chefs! ninth annual From Farms to Forks event at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in October raised $61,000, a new record for the event.


Kevin and Annamarie


Klippenstein are regulars. They’ve participated in Farms to Forks almost since the beginning by providing organic produce to the event’s chefs. It’s a natural fit for their 50-


acre organic farm, Klippers Organics, in Cawston. The farm began 17 years ago with five acres and now sells 25% of its produce direct to restaurants and the rest through farmers’ markets. Organic farming is Annamarie’s heritage. Her parents, Hans and Mary Forstbauer, were pioneers of BC’s organic sector and sold at farmers’ markets in the Lower Mainland. When she and Kevin set up in Cawston, selling at farmers’ markets came naturally. “We kind of did markets


everywhere we could at the beginning,” Kevin says. Now, with hundreds of varieties of fruit and vegetables, they’re more selective. Although they still work the weekend markets in Vancouver, they’re also expanding a restaurant program launched four years ago.


While selling produce at a


farmer’s market before they’d even dreamed up their restaurant program, the Klippensteins met David Gunawan, who was working at West in Vancouver’s toney South Granville neighbourhood. “David was the first chef


we sold to,” Klippenstein recalls. “He would come pick up product from us every week at the farmers’ market.” Gunawan was involved


with Growing Chefs! and the Klippensteins embraced the idea. “Getting kids more


involved with their food is always good, right?” Klippenstein asks. This year’s From Farms to


Forks event raised funds for the organization’s classroom gardening and cooking program, which brings the hands-on program with chef,


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agricultural and community volunteers to 12 classrooms across southern BC. The program reaches 250 kids through 40 chef and community volunteers. By educating youngsters about food, the program aims to give them a greater appreciation for food production, farming and a healthy diet.


Guests contributed to the fundraising not only by buying tickets but auction bids. Whole Foods Market and Mission Hill Estate Winery contributed sponsorships. For Klippenstein, a highlight was being paired with a chef he already knew and worked with, Brian Luptak, executive chef at The Acorn and The Arbor. While Growing Chefs! tries to match farmer and chef, Luptak wanted to work with Klippenstein. “They’re like family. They


are one of our most important suppliers,” Luptak says. “It was basically me and Kevin talking and saying we need to do this together. They basically have the best


Attention to detail: Acorn chef Brian Luptak plates a pumpkin dish served at the From Farms to Forks gala fundraiser for the Growing Chefs! program. MAVREEN DAVID PHOTOGRAPHY


produce around.” They’re also very family- oriented and personable, the perfect fit for a program built around helping kids better understand growing and preparing food. “Kids growing up need to understand the importance of local produce, growing your own produce, how to cook your own produce,” Luptak says. “Take-out is too easy. Buying pre-packaged food is too easy.” It’s also made it easy to


lose vital information about where food comes from. “It’s crazy when you go to the market in Vancouver,” Klippenstein says. “When you have tops on carrots, [kids] say ‘I don’t understand, what is the green stuff on top of the carrots?’ It’s very important for farmers to stay involved.” Luptak and the


Klippensteins were both involved in From Farms to Forks, providing a Marina Di Chioggia pumpkin prepared


five ways for canapés. Growing Chefs! executive


director Helen Stortini says it’s important to highlight the farmers and their produce at the annual event, and the possibilities in the kitchen. “We're trying to give kids a better understanding of how their food is grown and where it's grown,” she says. “We want them to become more conscientious, sustainably-minded eaters that understand the benefit of choosing local.”


FEED YOUR HERD...AND YOUR BOTTOM LINE


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