Region's restaurants increasingly seek local ingredients

A growing segment of restaurants are cutting out the middleman and filling their plates with food they grow themselves, capitalizing on the demand for local products and fresh, organic ingredients.

Food ingredients from local sources were a centerpiece of the concept for the Rye Tavern, a restaurant that opened this summer in Plymouth.

Owners Dramshop Hospitality of Brookline contracted with Ron Maribett, owner of Colchester Neighborhood Farm in Plympton, to plant a 1,400-square-foot vegetable garden behind the 80-seat establishment.

Rye Tavern is a prime example of the growing “farm to table” movement in dining, which emphasizes menus inspired by local meats and produce rather than products from big food suppliers.

Chefs say the quality and freshness of local products have become powerful selling points to a general public that is more supportive of small-scale agriculture. Proponents say buying local also helps the environment by reducing transportation and energy usage.

As the rows of cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, peas and eggplant are harvested each week, Rye Tavern chef Joanna Farrar incorporates them into the menu.

“A lot of days I go out there in the morning and I’m inspired by what I’m harvesting for the day to write my specials,” Farrar said. “It can be a matter of hours from the time it’s picked to the time it goes on a plate to a customer.”

Hingham’s Scarlet Oak Tavern counts on weekly deliveries of produce from a three-acre garden at its sibling restaurant, Gibbet Hill Grill in Groton.

On Thursdays through Saturdays throughout the summer, Scarlet Oak Tavern offers a three-course prix fixe menu featuring the week’s peak local ingredients. It also buys food from Weir River Farm and Pennimen Hill Farm in Hingham.

“People have finally awoken to the importance of this,” Scarlet Oak Tavern owner Jed Weber said. “The challenge is with just a backyard garden, how do you source everything and keep the customer interested?”

On Sept. 28, Scarlet Oak will host its annual “all-Massachusetts” dinner featuring exclusive Bay State ingredients.

Tony DiRenzo, chef at Abby Park in Milton, has emphasized New England ingredients while designing specials featuring blackened grilled salmon and striped bass caught by New Bedford fishermen and caprese salads with tomatoes grown in Maine.

The movement has given small farms new customers as chefs look to source distinctly local ingredients.

Judy Lieberman, owner of the Brookwood Community Farm in Canton, has sold produce to local restaurants such as Abby Park and 88 Wharf in Milton in recent years. She said she’s been deluged with calls from restaurant chefs looking to buy produce grown at the four-acre farm on Route 138.

“It’s definitely become a high priority,” said Lieberman, who sells the bulk of her produce through a shared harvest program direct to consumers.

The uncertain conditions typical of local farming can inspire menu innovation. When Hurricane Irene approached Massachusetts last month, the Rye Tavern rushed to harvest unripened tomatoes lest they be damaged by the storm. Farrar put together a green tomato chutney to go with their grilled lamb chops.

Wait staff are briefed daily on what fresh produce is available.

“People want to know where their food is coming from, who’s cooking it and how it’s being handled. This is a huge movement for a lot of people,” said Farrar, who grew up on a 100-acre farm in Maine. “It’s becoming more trendy, but for me, it’s more of a way of life.”