On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA December 2016 - January 2017 | Page 7

the restaurant. He encourages his staff to
always prepare their own meals to the same
high standards they use for their customers. In
this way Jiro feels it elevates his staff’s palates
and their craft. I share this philosophy, I believe
gardeners should always eat the best, healthful,
high quality food.
MILLENNIALS TASTE THE DIFFERENCE
Vegetable gardening has become popular
with millennials and a whole new generation.
Besides people wanting to learn where their
food comes from, they can immediately taste
the difference in quality. Beans, lettuce and
especially tomatoes that are picked from the
garden and eaten fresh make it hard to settle
for less. I see this process as a younger generation is adapting to accessing and growing
food in a changing world.
I believe restaurant chefs who are inspired
by fresh, local and organic foods help their
customers appreciate the seasonality of
vegetables and the quality of good food. They
inspire a new appreciation—even a reinterpretation of a vegetable their patrons might be
used to eating only one way.
The beauty of being at a public garden is
the range of visitors we see. A lot of families
(especially kids) like to point out the vegetables
they recognize. Others strike up conversations
about success or lack of success with a certain
crop, while others are surprised to discover a
crop they have never seen before. My goal is
to keep a diversity of vegetables in the garden,
with labels for each crop for easy identification.
I am happy to share ideas with guests about
seed sources, recipes and specific requirements
vegetables need.
I enjoy cooking. Although I have never
considered myself very accomplished in that
area, being a vegetable gardener has definitely
made me a better cook. I often leave recipes
with my harvest to inspire coworkers to try
new vegetables like sorrel, which is easy to
grow. In Christopher Lloyd’s cookbook Gardener Cook, there is a simple recipe for sorrel soup
that I have come to love.
I sincerely believe that the vegetable display
gardens at Chanticleer can inspire our visitors
to see food gardening as an exciting adventure
and one in which they gain better meals and
an appreciation for the seasonality of food.
Food gardening can be an activity for the
whole family. Our visitors often leave amazed
at the variety of vegetables and herbs they can
grow themselves.
David Mattern holds a degree in Landscape
Contracting with an emphasis on design, and a minor
in horticulture from Pennsylvania State University.
He is a graduate of Longwood’s Professional Gardener
Program. David lectures and teaches cla