Celebrity Farmer Lee Jones will visit Cincinnati State on Jan. 27
January 5, 2011
Farmer Lee Jones, an iconic presence in the culinary world and a recent judge on Iron Chef America, will visit Cincinnati State’s Midwest Culinary Institute on Jan. 27 for two events.
Jones will give a lecture for Cincinnati State students and invited industry guests starting at 2 p.m. in the Demonstration Theater at the Midwest Culinary Institute.
Jones and Sean Kagy, chef de cuisine at the Summit Restaurant at the Midwest Culinary Institute, will then participate in a fund-raising Harvest “dinner-by-the-bite’’ starting at 6:30 p.m. They will be joined by Julie Francis of Nectar, Findlay Market, Wine Trends, and others. Tickets are $65; reservations are available at 513.569.4980 or at www.cincinnatistate.edu/farmerjones.
Farmer Lee Jones is a member of an Ohio family of farmers that has earned a national reputation for supplying high-quality vegetables directly to chefs from their fields and greenhouses near the Lake Erie shore.
Their enterprise, today known as “The Chef’s Garden,’’ dates to the 1980s when, after a devastating hailstorm threatened their survival in agriculture, Lee Jones met a chef who was interested in purchasing squash blossoms. As they rebuilt, the family made a decision to focus on the needs of chefs.
They developed a philosophy that emphasized growing responsibly for quality, instead of quantity. This led to the cultivation of micro greens, micro herbs, heirloom vegetables, specialty lettuces, edible flowers – and close relationships with chefs across the country. While farming at The Chef's Garden uses time-honored methods, advanced food safety programs – including routine testing for food borne illnesses and a bar-code system that tracks a product from seed to shipping – are also employed.
Today Farmer Lee Jones, with his trademark overalls and a red bowtie, is a familiar sight at the culinary industry's top shows and events. He has been featured in numerous national publications, including Bon Appétit, Cooking Light, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Food Arts, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine and The Washington Post. The farm has been featured on "The Martha Stewart Show," Food Network's "Roker on the Road," "CNN Business Unusual," ABC World News and recently on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and Dick Gordon’s “The Story.”
Farmer Jones was also the first farmer ever to judge the popular Food Network TV program "Iron Chef America."
Farmer Jones travels nationwide, speaking about sustainability at seminars and culinary events like The James Beard Foundation Awards and the CIA’s Greystone Flavor Summit. In addition, he frequently participates in panel discussions as an agricultural expert, including The Women Chefs and Restaurateurs National Conference in 2007 and Chef Raymond Blanc's American Food Revolution in Oxford, England in 2004. He currently sits on the board of Chef Magazine.
For more information, please visit http://www.chefs-garden.com/. For a YouTube video showing Farmer Jones, please see: http://www.youtube.com/thechefsgarden#p/u/0/jOnOgcxlJ7A.
