Tara Pesta (above) says the garden wouldn't exist without local farmer Alice Lee. Photo by Chip Scheuer.
The Bay Area culinary scene is known for its dedication to local and organic sourcing, but sometimes Nor Cal foodies can get a little delusional in thinking it all started with Alice Waters.
In fact, Main St. Garden’s executive chef Chris Caloni had to go to Italy to get an old-school vision of regional eating. There, of course, what people eat has been defined by where they live for centuries. After seeing what Italian chefs were doing with fresh, local ingredients, Caloni wanted to bring the same approach to Santa Cruz.
He found the ideal spot to do this at Main Street, thanks to the restaurant’s impressive on-site garden. It was crafted by local farmer Alice Lee, who designed everything from the dimensions of the beds to the layout to the water-timing system.
“This garden wouldn’t exist without her,” says Tara Pesta, who with her managing partner Mauro Zanella took over Main Street Garden from Evan Borthwick in May. Borthwick had bought the restaurant in 2009, when it was Theo’s.
Lee continues to maintain the garden, and its supply of fresh produce to the kitchen. She uses sustainable practices whenever possible, and the produce is grown according to national organic standards. Lee also composts and takes care of the chickens that provide the fresh eggs Caloni uses in the kitchen.
“She knows how to rotate crops and which vegetables work best in our soil,” says Pesta.
Carloni often starts his menu planning with a simple walk through the garden. What he sees in the imminent harvest can be a starting point from which he jumps off in creating his dishes. Everyone involved takes pride in the fact that the restaurant’s approach to “Italian countryside cuisine” puts extra emphasis on the countryside, with anything they don’t grow in the garden sourced from local, organic farms. Their fish is from local, sustainable catches, and their meats pasture-raised.
Lee works with Carloni to decide what to plant, and helps integrate the weekly harvest.
“I’ve been gardening at Main St. now for two and a half years,” says Lee, “and every year we learn something new, and try new things and get better at timing crops so that the kitchen isn’t empty or overwhelmed.”
