Organic Thoughts

The first time I heard the term “organic” in relation to vegetables, my first thought was, aren’t vegetables already natural? Nay nay my friend, in the world of agri-business as it is so affectionately called, carrots are no longer just a carrot and that beautiful pristine looking ear of corn that has somehow endured 2 months at the bottom of your chiller and has defied the odds to carry on and live another day, is not from your hardworking farmer friend down the road, especially in February. Truth be told, this is not natural, in fact it is disturbing. Ever wonder why those beautiful tomatoes you bought at the local supermarket look great with there glossy red coat and bright green stem, but when you cut it open it weeps tears of under-ripe green seeds and displays a flesh of white pith that tastes like a mixture of water and diluted tomato paste. Yes oh yes, the great agri-businesses of our time have taken it upon themselves to extend the growing season of vegetables to have no season at all. The result is somewhere between money and well money. In the pursuit of the ever elusive dollar and the growing acceptance of well “crap” vegetables, these businesses have flourished and they are not going away any time soon. You will be delighted to know that most, if not all of those vegetables in your local supermarket have been treated, sprayed, injected or have absorbed some form of pesticide, herbicide, preservative or my favorite, “flavor enhancer”. To make it simple, what this all means is we are eating things that are first out of season, second don’t taste good and third are potentially harmful to our bodies.

As a chef I have a certain obligation to those I feed. I mean it doesn’t get more personal than ingesting the fruit of someone else’s labor. Many of you that have eaten here know that I have a particular devotion to fresh fruits and vegetables that have been grown with care and respect for the land. With that being said, it is rather difficult even for a chef to be 100% certain of where my fruit and vegetables come from. In Singapore we are a bit maligned by the fact that we have little if any agricultural resources, so we have to ship in from all over the world to catch a glimpse of that perfect White Asparagus in May or that beautiful tomato in August. The notion that I am implying is that we start looking at fruit and vegetables through a seasonal window rather than a year round fish bowl. Ask ourselves if those asparagus we are eating in November are well, really and truly great asparagus and wouldn’t it be nicer to tuck into a beautiful autumn root vegetable stew than a woody piece of asparagus any way. But, it is going to take time to develop the supply lines and relationships to secure great products. It involves a tremendous amount of effort and forethought as well as an undying determination to bring the best to our plates. So, I am on a quest and it may take me a little time to get there, but the goal is to bring back the flavor of life, and to me that is very natural.