Have you ever sat at a restaurant and wondered where your lettuce or steak came from? Farm-to-table restaurants remove the confusion about the origins of your food. For those who aren't familiar with the phrase, farm-to-table restaurants focus on locally sourced ingredients, as opposed to mass produced or frozen ingredients that other restaurants may use.
Even though farm-to-table restaurants have been around for a while, I feel like they don't get the recognition they deserve, especially from us millennials. Here are some reasons why you need to make a reservation at a farm-to-table restaurant asap.
1. The food is delicious
Farm-to-table restaurants focus on the ingredients and showcasing seasonal harvests, so expect very fresh food. The freshness of the ingredients is apparent upon first bite, which really changes the way you think about simple ingredients like tomatoes or string beans.
The focus on seasonal harvests also allows these restaurants to have a rotating menu, so you will definitely get a chance to try something new. Talented and creative chefs are usually at the helm of these restaurants, and when given the freshest ingredients, make amazing dishes.
2. It's real food with no gimmicks
Have you ever seen a post on Facebook about some new food trend where they take a standard item and turn it into something crazy and weird? And then when you actually have the chance to try it, you wait in line for over an hour only to be disappointed? This has happened to me more than enough times, and made me resent any sort of gimmick (such as charcoal ice cream, or any meal in a jar).
That's really why I love farm-to-table restaurants so much. There are no gimmicks, the food is simple, and you know that the focus on real ingredients will make it delicious. And of course, the plating is still very instagrammable.
3. It's more ethical
It's sad to say, but most of the food we eat and buy comes from an industrial farm. Industrial farms mass produce crops and livestock, which have high yields but come at a cost for both humans and animals. They often use pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and a high hormone, high calorie diet for livestock.
Farm-to-table restaurants source from local and sustainable farms. Sustainable farms do not use hazardous pesticides, which is better for the environment and healthier for humans. The meat is also better from farm-to-table restaurants because it does not contain hormone-infused feed.
This article was not meant to make anyone feel bad about their previous food practices, or to tell anyone that they should only eat at farm-to-table restaurants. Instead, I want to inform you on one of my personal favourite ways to eat. Farm-to-table restaurants are one of the few types that promote wholesome practices while also being tasty. Some of my personal favourites in Southern Ontario include Richmond Station, FARMHOUSE Tavern and Treadwell Cuisine.