Hey...We're Youth in Food!

As delegates at this year's Terra Madre, Slow Food's international gathering of food communities, we found ourselves in a very unique position. We were young enough to be considered part of the Youth Food Movement, which encompassed anyone in the 18-30 range involved in food; but we were attending as raw milk cheese producers - the only ones from California, to be exact.

A handful in the Youth Food Movement genre were farmers or producers; most were interested in apprenticing or interning on farms, while others had dreams of their own place but weren't sure where to start. Several came to Italy as members of their Slow Food on Campus convivium, and others were chefs who understood - or were looking to understand - their connection with those who work the soil.

There was an impromptu YFM breakout session during lunch one day, where a few visionaries our age attempted to foster discussion among the youth delegates by breaking into two groups - John joined the "I already have land/a farm/a jumpstart but am looking where to go from here" group, while Mandy joined the "internships/apprenticeships/farmwork" group.

We didn't go in with any expectations or assumptions; we just wanted to hear what everyone else was talking about. We were just as interested in new and different ideas as we were in sharing our own. Though we managed Pedrozo Dairy & Cheese, we also sort of worked as apprentices there; and learning from others our own age with very similar dreams and ideals was incredible.

The melding of eternal optimism and business-mindedness in that room was a great experience. For the scale of farming we want to do, it would be futile to have one without the other. While at PD&C, we'd become so focused on the business side of things - profit and loss reports, sales goals, grant proposals, spreadsheets - that we'd become business people who happened to make cheese. But looking back, what a great experience for the journey on which we're about to embark.

While we work on our own cash flow projections for our farm, we've started to put our dreams for Betterfit Ranch in a notebook to ensure we never forget those intricate details that we know will make our farm sparkle. Because the dreams of sitting at our big wooden table with a fresh slab of cheese and home-raised prosciutto with friends new and old will continue to be a dream without those realistic weight belts to keep us grounded and moving forward.

In the meantime, we hope to keep in touch with the friends we made thousands of miles away. We're keeping track of the greenhorns project and feel like we may actually have found our place among those freshfaced farmers. Our experience in farm management and business plan and grant writing places us on that cusp between the idealistic and profoundly active "Youth in Food" and the tired but just as active "Experienced Producers," but maybe that's ok. If we happen to help others at any age who find themselves intrigued to the point of action in this whole sustainable food movement, well then we're still living by our mantra: Eat. Work. Laugh. Grow.

Bacio's Scrumptious Thanksgiving Sides

Give Thanks for local, fresh, quality dishes that will warm your heart and home! Prepaid side orders from Bacio, Chico's favorite catering and carryout experts, are the easiest and tastiest way to complement your traditional Thanksgiving main course. Call 530-345-7787 to place your order by 7:30 pm Monday, Nov. 24. Then pick up your delish dishes at 1903 Park Ave in Chico, Tuesday 11:30 - 7:30 or Wednesday 11:30 - 8 pm.

One pound = 2-3 guests

Andouille Sausage & Cornbread Stuffing ($10.50/lb)

Hazelnut, Sage & Mushroom Stuffing ($9.50/lb)

Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes With Caramelized Shallots ($7.50/lb)

Golden Onion Gratin with Gruyere Cheese & Panko ($8.50/lb)

Roasted Butternut Squash with Yams, Carrots, Caramelized Onions and Pomegranate Jewels ($7.50/lb)

Haricot Verts with Herbed Butter ($9/lb)

Cranberry Mandarin Relish ($5/pt or $8/qt)

Pan Gravy! ($7/pt or $12/qt)

and for Dessert...
Pies from Mim's Bakery, Chico's Confectionary Experts since 1989!
(pies serve about 8 guests)

Organic Apple - Fuji & Granny Smith Apples, a hint of fresh ginger and spice, baked in a flaky butter crust. ($18)

Maple Pecan - Maple syrup imparts a smokey, delicious flavor to a traditional pecan pie... made with local pecans. ($22)

Organic Pumpkin Pie - Local sugar pumpkins roasted and then baked into a traditional pumpkin pie. ($18)

The Path That Led Us Here

Three years ago, we visited Ceago, a biodynamic farm run by the Fetzer family. Mandy was a magazine editor, John was along for the ride to take photos. What we experienced there was like nothing we'd ever seen, but it was everything we wanted.

The three-hour drive home was filled with hopes, dreams and visions of our own small farm, where people might visit, work the land, eat communally, and share and laugh the night away.

Eat, Work, Laugh, Grow were the words we most commonly used to describe the vision of our new farm. We knew we wanted our farm to be sustainable and small. Education, community and fun were components we wanted most.

We spent two years at Pedrozo Dairy & Cheese, Mandy's parents' farmstead dairy and cheese company. As manager, Mandy was cheesemaker, bookkeeper and communications director. As sales and marketing coordinator, John was head of sales, shipping, design and marketing.

We became adept at direct sales and marketing, focusing on farmers markets and retail sales while garnering national attention on the Rachael Ray show and international comraderie at Terra Madre, Slow Food International's gathering held every two years in Turin, Italy.

Together, we managed the complete operation while Mandy's stepfather recovered from cancer surgery. We milked, moved the cows on rotational pasture, made cheese, and prepped and sold it at farmers markets.

During that time, the seed that was planted at Ceago firmly took root; owning and managing our own sustainable farm was no longer a far-off dream, it was a reality. We soon realized we are not only willing and able to do the work--we're knowledgable enough to make it happen.

Today, we are completing our own business plan and putting the skills we garnered at Pedrozo Dairy & Cheese to work. We're searching out properties, researching the heritage livestock we want to raise, and keeping an ear to the ground for cheesemaking and milking equipment. The goal is to have our own farm and be married on it by autumn 2009.

Until then, we're putting those sales and marketing strategies to work by helping the small farms and businesses who know and like our style and need help in the marketing area. We're fortunate to have such a foundation of support in our community and are more than happy to give back whenever we get the chance.

*Pic of John and Mandy borrowed from Canyon of Cheese.