This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Paul Berglund the executive chef at the Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis, MN. Since 2011 the restaurant has garnered high praise for its Scandinavian inspired cuisine. In 2012 it was named to Bon Appetit's Hot Ten List of best new American restaurants and was nominated for the prestigious James Beard Award for best new restaurant in America.
In the interview we talk about the farm-to-table concept, the benefits of serving fresh local food, and how design can accentuate the dining experience. For more information on Paul, or the Bachelor Farmer, please visit www.thebachelorfarmer.com. To subscribe to the Red Clay Rambler podcast on iTunes please click here. To add the podcast to your Stitcher Radio on Demand Playlist click here. You can also stream the latest episode on the podcast tab for this site.
In the interview we talk about the farm-to-table concept, the benefits of serving fresh local food, and how design can accentuate the dining experience. For more information on Paul, or the Bachelor Farmer, please visit www.thebachelorfarmer.com. To subscribe to the Red Clay Rambler podcast on iTunes please click here. To add the podcast to your Stitcher Radio on Demand Playlist click here. You can also stream the latest episode on the podcast tab for this site.
Here I go again... the Comment Queen... come on everybody... chime in! So I listened to the podcast yesterday and it was very interesting to me... I am a bit of a foodie and have had my cups at a local dining establishment that was also nominated for a Beard Award a few times... that said... I really was interested in the color and form discussion but felt that there could be more discussed about the practicality of form as well as how to make it work in a restaurant... Is it all about serving pieces vs individual? My cups not only broke from use and dishwashing... BUT THEY WALKED... people liked them and took them. BOOM. Just like that.... and this is NOT an inexpensive restaurant...You may be thinking... UH... Judi, YOU ARE IN NEW JERSEY... and you may be right.... BUT, I don't think so....It is an issue... and the replacement costs from breakage or theft is not very practical(Unlike those boring, plain white glossy, restaurant dishes...) I would LOVE to see a restaurant with a collection (like in my own home) of different potters' plates and bowls and cups used... THAT would be great... LOTS of artists... with in a size range for each piece...If we could just trust people to be careful AND not become CLEPTOS! OH... and then... I have one more thing to add... I ran down to Philadelphia for the Philadelphia Museum Craft Show to check things out...use the money I make selling my work to buy other people's work...and in the last row of booths I was looking at, I see "Will Swanson" and I told him all about the podcast!!! He was quite happy about it! AND... I bought a bowl... inspired by your podcast... Keep on keeping on... I am a huge fan.
ReplyDeleteHello Judi,
DeleteGreat to hear from you. I love your thoughtful comments and that you post them to the blog. I get many comments through email or through iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-red-clay-rambler-podcast/id523651655) so don't worry about being a lone commenter. I wish I could consolidate them all so you guys could see each other's comments.
Your point about the cost of having hand made pottery in restaurants is a huge issue. When I have spoken with other potters and restaurant people cost is the first thing to come up. As potters we can't compete with the low price of mass produced wares and the restaurants can't compete with each other if they spend all their money on having good pots to serve from. I have never thought about the issue of stealing but I bet that happens a lot more than I might think. I will bring up your points on an upcoming panel that I will be taping next week. We will have two artists and one chef talking about the issues that come up when restaurants and potters work together.
I love that you ran into Will Swanson and bought a bowl. I will try to get in touch with him and thank him for his good work. It was really cool to hear why and how Paul picked his work for the Bachelor Farmer. We didn't get into in the podcast much but he had a specific rational for picking Will's work.