My name is Sinclair Welch, currently a sophomore at the University of Vermont majoring in Environmental Studies concentrating in Food Systems. Prior to my studies at UVM, I attended the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan, where I received a culinary degree. This summer I am working for Barcelona Wine Bar and bartaco in their South Norwalk offices with Farah Masani, a farmer and the Director of Culinary Procurement helping with food sourcing, inventory, distribution and farming. I will be writing weekly blogs to give you a peek at what goes on behind the scenes.
At our Barcelona Fairfield location, we have a garden where we grow fresh vegetables and herbs for the restaurant. In our six raised beds we grow our signature pardon peppers, radishes, cucumbers, chives, Asian greens, basil, many other herbs, and flowers. Each Friday, Farah and I go to the garden to harvest for the restaurant, allowing us to have the freshest ingredients possible for the weekend.
Our first radish harvest of the season yielded lots of beautiful veggies. These radishes went from the garden to the Fairfield kitchen, and then onto your plate later that night.
Here we are at the Fairfield garden with kids from the Giant Steps School in Southport, CT. We taught them how to grow and harvest different plants, and how to maintain a garden. In a single day, we will harvest an entire bed, turn the soil and then replant something new to harvest the next week. Sometimes we use a “cut and come again” technique when harvesting, which is where you cut the plant two inches above the soil to ensure it grows back quickly.
