The Culinary Institute of America, the world’s premier culinary college, spends more than $500,000 a year on produce, dairy, meat, and eggs from two-dozen local farms.

But until recently most incoming chefs didn’t know that there were more than two kinds of potatoes. That changed with the hiring of Paul Wigsten.

You see Paul is a tenth-generation farmer. He is also the full-time produce buyer and farm liaison at the CIA.  With passion and brevity he settles questions—from restaurant owners, consumers and even policymakers—about local-sourced product.

Local Food is Less Expensive

By buying local and working with “the guys I knew I could depend on” Paul has been able to double the amount of produce purchased with the same budget.  But, wait . . . doesn’t local produce cost five to 20% more than produce shipped across the country? It can but, according to Paul, with local fare there is “no trim, no waste. With California you loose 10 to 20% in kitchen prep.”

Local Food Tastes Better

At the CIA every student is required to take a class called product knowledge. Instructors tend to go with more dramatic “flavor profiles.” Red leaf lettuce is subtle. The flavor is not so different but the texture is crisper.  Strawberries and tomatoes not.  “We do a side-by-side comparison of tasting of local vs. Florida vs. California strawberries. It’s not a fair test.  Local wins hands down.”

“Why would you like to have something that was halfway across the country yesterday vs. what was in the field just hours ago? Think of the quality of a freshly dug potato. There is simply no comparison between that potato and what comes out of storage.”

“Even buying local beefsteaks: in late Fall, we will go to Mountain Fresh Farms, a hydroponic grower in Highland, NY. Those tomatoes are vine ripened. But in Florida, they’re packed dead green. They give them a big dose of gas and try to sell them red. “

Local Food is a Movement

According to Paul “the newest trend is an old one. It’s buying local. This is not merely a marketing ploy; it is a growing movement.”

Many CIA students come in with restaurant experience, so they already know the value of buying local. But if they don’t, according to Paul, “students catch on quickly. They come to the cooler to see what is coming in from local farmers.”  Like an artist created a new painting, they need inspiration to create something new. And often it starts with the ingredients found locally and now more and more in the student-run garden on campus. “The difference between now and just three years ago is dramatic. First off all the students fall in love with the area. The CIA’s location in a farm basket makes a big difference. It helps too that for the first time in years we are seeing the number of farms in the area increasing.” So here’s a trend worth watching: newly minted and newly motivated farmers inspire newly minted and newly mtivated chefs in a virtuous and delicious circle.

With a touch of wistfulness Paul notes “we may never go back to a time when America was an agrarian society. But this current economic downturn may prove an unexpected benefit to farmers as people get back to eating basics.”

How can you be assured that you’re getting local? Look for the local farms on the menu. Start by asking your waiter for sources. Go for the local produce over something shipped 3,000 miles. And when you do you’re almost always assured of getting a better meal.

Paul Wigsten family farm, Pleasant Valley, NY

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Culinary Institute of America

Paul Wigtsen’s farm