By Bill Metzgar (ACME Personal Chef)
It’s
a gorgeous morning to drive out to Gasport, NY, with a bright sky with sun and
clouds and low humidity. When arriving at Becker Farms on Quaker Road, the
place is already buzzing with various chores and activities underway–mowing,
sweeping the walk, building repair, and store shelves being stocked. The place
has been known for many years for its entertaining farm tours and seasonal “u-pick”
fruit and vegetable opportunities.
Today there’s a family of 6, already done with their trip to the
farm. Mom is trying to herd the
rambunctious giggling kids in the direction of their car, while Dad’s arms are
full of the peak-of-freshness produce they’ve chosen to take home.
I
find Amanda Vizcarra-Craft in the Vizcarra Vineyards tasting room,
straightening up and raring to go even after having had catered a party the
evening before. Perhaps her high
energy occurs naturally, or it could be the fact that she and husband Nick have
returned recently from a cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. Amanda describes the trip as “ultra relaxing—we
just laid on the decks or the beach, soaking up the sun!” She said the ship was like a floating
island for them, providing changing scenery as they traveled. When asked how they could get away
during the summer season, Amanda responded that as she knew “the harvest was
coming soon and parties I’ve booked for Vizcarra Vineyards Catering, plus, the
opening of the Becker Brewery on August 28th meant we had to go when we did or
we’d never get to do it.”
So,
now she’s back to work and preparing for the big event of August, her next “100
Mile Meal.” These farm-to-table
five course meals are paired with their own wines. All food will be made from their farm’s harvest or produced
within 100 mile of their location.
In the fall of 2008, Amanda envisioned the 100 Mile Meals as a way to
share her love of fresh, local produce with her guests on the farm.
These
meals represent for Amanda an opportunity to share her passion for fresh-from-the-fields
foods with the families of WNY.
The entire concept was to make it a family meal where you can relax and
enjoy the time “on the farm” with friends and family. A family meal, if you will, with the peace and quiet of the
agrarian life as your surroundings.
This budding culinary dynamo speaks of the menu for this meal in similar
terms; fresh, field-to-fork foods from within 100 miles of Becker Farms.
The
August menu featured cheeses from Yancy’s Fancy, Snyder Farms Beef, Pyskaty
Farms garlic scapes and wine pairings from their own Vizcarra Vineyards. The core of the menu is prepared using
simple preparations of vegetables and fruits featuring simple sauces and herbs
from her sizable kitchen garden.
This is the way she and her family likes to eat, and it comes through in
her speech and kitchen performances.
Amanda
spoke passionately about her understanding of media-driven buzzwords like “Locavore,”
Slow Food, Seasonal, Sustainable and Local, Organic and All Natural. In her
mind, these concepts are just what she and her family, and her mother’s family
before, have always adhered to. It
is more than a righteous or moral approach to living; it is and always has been
a way of life!
So
how does an individual or even a family like the Vizcarra’s arrive at a
philosophy like that? Well, it can
be said they come by it honestly. They’re not some new bandwagon hangers-on to
a hip, trendy idea or recent converts to the Organic, All Natural and Slow Food
movements. These are real, honest
to goodness farm folk, who’ve lived their entire lives close to the land–and
lived the lifestyle by nature, not by media influence.
Take
for example the heritage of Becker Farms. In 1894, the farm was established on
Quaker Road, in Gasport, NY, by Frank and Augusta Becker as a family
subsistence farm. They lived the
agrarian lifestyle and flourished, raising and growing their own produce and
livestock. The next
generation was born as Joyce Becker married Don Perry and they worked the farm,
but added horses and Cherry trees–lots of cherry trees–to the mix, while Don
work a full-time manufacturing job, and Joyce raised the next generation. This includes current owner Melinda
(Perry) Vizcarra. Melinda is a
Cornell University Agriculture School graduate who, with husband and partner
Oscar Vizcarra, has converted the original farmstead into an operation that
features “u-pick” produce, hay rides, a petting zoo and bake shop. Next, with the newest generation,
Amanda and brother Andreas, the Vizcarras have continued to grow and added the
Vineyard, the catering operation–and new in August–the Becker Brewery and Pub.
How
does this happen? Amanda describes
her childhood as typical. Typical
for a rural youngster, I suppose.
Although she grew up in Gasport, NY, she felt discriminated against by
the other kids in high school because she was a “farm kid”. Ironic, in that most every kid in
Gasport was a farm kid! Therefore, she had little interest in having farm life
for her future. She graduated from
Alfred University with degrees in Business and Spanish in 2004. She told me she loved the challenge of
entrepreneurship and the creative process. But something drew her back to the family business, and it’s
been a benefit for both.
She’s
always been in love with the kitchen.
The farm was already hosting company picnics and gatherings. Amanda saw
a market there for a more demanding dining experience–something utilizing the
farm’s fresh produce. So the catering service was born with Amanda at the
helm. Her father, Oscar, has been
her biggest supporter and has provided kitchen equipment and remodeling as
needed. Just this summer, the
kitchen has been updated to include an a la carte menu that will provide light
meals for the Becker Brewery dining room.
As you can see, everything grows and develops on this property
organically.
Always
striving to improve and to provide the best for her guests, Amanda has begun
working on a Culinary Arts degree from Niagara County Community College in
Sanborn, NY. This has been an eye
opener for her. Prior to taking a
Purchasing for Chefs class, she had little idea of the foodservice industry’s distribution
chain, or that one could source so many out of season products from all over
the world; it was a revalation.
Her heritage had been to always eat in season. It’s not like she’ll
change, but, it gave her a broader worldview and perhaps an understanding of
why people are so interested in local foods. By the way, she says the current sluggish economy has
meant even more visitors to the farm, picking their own, spending time with the
family and enjoying fresh local foods.
So,
if you come out to the country and visit the farm, you’ll be immersed in the
legacy of the first Becker Farmers that lives on with the newest
generation. As I found out, it
continues to grow–organically–from the place where this American success story
began 115 years ago, from Family.
September
2009 Wine and Food Pairing
First Course
Spicy Cream of Carrot Soup served with Pyskaty
Farms Roasted Garlic Spread on Crostini with crumbly blue cheese paired with
Vizcarra Vineyards 2008 Rusty’s Riesling.
Second Course
Stuffed Anaheim Peppers from Becker Farms
Kitchen Garden and Yancy’s Fancy’s Buffalo Blues Artisan Cheese paired with
Vizcarra Vineyards 2008 Quaker Red Rougon.
Third Course
Broccoli Salad with sun dried raisins, pumpkin
seeds, and bacon from D.H. Cloy and Sons paired with Vizcarra Vineyards 2008
Dusty’s Diamond Wine.
Entree
Breaded Pork Cutlets from Snyder Farms with
Turnip puree and roasted vegetables. Served with concord grape sauce. Paired
with Vizcarra Vineyards 2008 Merlot or Becker Brewing Co. Signature lager.
Dessert
MacIntosh apple crisp a la mode paired with
Vizcarra Vineyards warm Spiced Apple Wine.
$50 per person plus tax, gratuity included
Complete List of Sources given upon seating