It all began with Michale Pollan

This whole exploration and self educating about corn really began with Michale Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma. He spoke about corn - how it started and how it ended up being used today. He discussed how corn is perhaps the LARGEST crop grown in North America. What's even funnier is that of all the corn grown, only 1/40th is used for human consumption. So you have to ask, where does that all go? He's also an advocate of organic and locally grown foods that are sustainable in the long term. That question is what lead us to finding all these neat information about corn and its uses.

Another interesting question is: Ok. So if we were to cook dinner for Michael Pollan, what would we cook?

Well, first off, if he is a proponent of the organic movement and a locavore, I think the best person to consult with regards to cooking Michael a nice dinner, would be our very own Chef Jamie Kennedy. He has been an advocate for Ontario-grown produce and has really aided the farmers in getting their products into the hands of chefs and restauranteurs. I imagine Chef Jamie would point us to farmers that produce their products within Ontario. So purveyors like Cumbrae's Farm who sources their dry aged beef from local farms would be a good start. Or perhaps King Cole, who's ducks are naturally raised and their farm is located in Aurora. He might also point us to going to North St. Lawrence Market on a Saturday morning. That place is full of farmers selling their produce. Purple and yellow carrots are quite common.

So to answer the question of what to cook for Michael Pollan, we think the best approach is not to come up with a recipe and then find the ingredients, but rather to explore the farms and markets that provide us with locally grown and sustainable ingredients and then come up with a menu that allows those ingredients to truly shine, and speak for themselves.

Raw purple corn anyone? Maybe even a medley of sauteed purple, yellow and orange carrots.