Being a part of the culinary world means that I come across A LOT of articles. And almost all of them are strongly opinionated and controversial. The culinary industry is one that has an abundance of conflicting personalities. There will never be a time where everyone agrees and the industry becomes one of rainbows and sunshine. Usually, when I come across these articles, I can see where both sides are coming from. However, the last one I read... that was NOT the case. As I read more and more of the article, I could feel my blood boiling... more and more. The article, “At Tampa Bay Farm-to-Table Restaurants, You’re Being Fed Fiction”, by Laura Reiley, pushed my buttons more than anything had in a long time. Reiley, who is a food critic for The Tampa Bay Times, drills into so-called “farm-to-table” restaurants and comes up with rotten black coal. And that‘s what these restaurant owners/chefs should get in their stocking this Christmas. Reiley discovers a restaurant claiming to serve sustainable shrimp actually gets their shrimp from India, and when she confronts the chef-owner Gary Moran, his response was, “We try to do local and sustainable as much as possible, but it’s not 100 percent.” If you as a restaurant owner don’t serve “100 percent” local, then do not advertise that you do. Also, it should not come down to you finally telling the truth only when, or if, someone calls you out on it. Having a “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality should not be a quality in a farm-to-table chef.

The fact that this restaurant, as well as many others in the Tampa bay area, are claiming to be “farm-to-table” or “sustainable” but really are far from it, is simply appalling to me. It degrades the entire farm-to-table/sustainability movement that has been making its way through society for the last few years. Due to the fact that I am a Wellness & Sustainability major here at Johnson & Wales University, this subject hits very close to home for me. This is the type of industry that I aim to become a part of one day and knowing there are frauds that are associating themselves with one of my strongest passions is heart-breaking. These fraudulent restaurants, and owners, are tainting the farm-to-table concept and the sustainability movement. They are making themselves look good without having to lift a single finger and taking all the credit from the local small-scale farmers’ work. Small farmers already have enough troubles to deal with these days in our large-scale big-farm society. Why add one more?

In my opinion, if you are not willing to put in the blood, sweat, and tears that it takes to be a real farm-to-table establishment, then you do not deserve an ounce of credit. Some restaurateurs have used the excuse of how difficult it is doing farm-to-table. Then just be honest. Admit that you cannot do it instead of deceiving and lying to everyone, including yourself. Or even just admit to only having some ingredients or dishes sustainable. Reiley interviews a chef, Greg Baker, who is honest about his sustainability practices and makes it known to everyone, including his customers, that, “The Refinery uses 70 to 90 percent local produce, depending on the season.” There, he said it. He told the truth. He did not lie or claim his restaurant to be something it was not. The truth was told and he only took credit for what he deserved and what he worked for. Now, was that so hard? I think not.