Sustainability is on the menu this holiday season as increasingly more diners demand healthy and fresh food. At The Restaurant at JUSTIN in Paso Robles, California, Chef Rachel Haggstrom has elevated farm-to-fork cooking to an art form.
Chef Rachel uses The Restaurant’s location on a 26-acre garden at JUSTIN Vineyards as her culinary canvas, incorporating edible flower fields, exotic fruits, vegetables, herbs, and fresh honey into her menu. Ninety-five percent of the ingredients she uses are locally sourced.
Tastemakers are taking notice. The Restaurant earned a Michelin Star for excellence and a Michelin Green Star, a recent annual award for “outstanding eco-friendly commitments.”
On any given day, a menu might include soup with sunchokes, apples, and horseradish or local snapper with Périgord black truffle, potato, chive, and crème fraiche.
Chef Rachel is somewhat of an anomaly within the fantastic dining circuit. While the variety of female chefs is rising, women make up only 7% of head chefs at Michelin-star restaurants. But that hasn’t stopped her from blazing her own green trail. We talked to her about her culinary origin story and her advice to other aspiring culinary artists.
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Entrepreneur: When did you first know you had a passion for the culinary industry?
Chef Rachel: I grew up on a citrus grove and had access to a plethora of fruits to cook with, which sparked my love of food from an early age. As a toddler, I used to be given a packet of mixed seeds and would plant them in a corner of our garden, eventually harvesting the produce and determining how one can turn these vegetables into food. The strategy of planting, taking good care of, and harvesting the produce sparked a curiosity to cook, which I got here to like.
You initially were studying criminal justice, so why did you are taking a turn into cooking?
I even have a bachelor’s degree in law with an emphasis in criminal justice and have all the time enjoyed each fields. I strongly considered getting my law degree. Nevertheless, culinary has all the time been a passion, and I felt that if I didn’t try it, I might regret it. Here I’m still doing it, so I feel I made the suitable decision!
Did you face any challenges being a girl in a primarily male-dominated industry?
I attempt to concentrate on perfecting my craft, letting my talent shine through, and allowing the dishes to talk for themselves. After all, there have been many challenges being a girl on this field, but I attempt to avoid raising those concerns or frustrations once I can in order that I will be defined by my work.
How did you make the menu at The Restaurant at JUSTIN your individual?
The Restaurant was very different once I first joined, and I even have been lucky enough to have the chance to make changes. I transformed where the food was sourced and the way it was prepared. Currently, 95% of our produce on the seasonal rotating menu is sourced locally from either the 26-acre garden at JUSTIN Vineyards and Winery or local purveyors and farmers throughout the Central Coast. As I grew the team, I used to be in a position to teach and develop skill sets focused on fundamental techniques. Moreover, we have now been in a position to develop into a spot of mentorship and foster an environment of nurturing our passion for the culinary arts.
What’s the dish you are most pleased with and why?
This changes depending on my mood and season. The one dish that I used to be extremely glad with when it comes to food and wine as a pairing was a ribeye cap dish with onion soubise, blueberry, beet, black truffle and our ISOSCELES Reserve. The pairing was seamless, and the dish itself had every thing you may want. We have reinvented the dish over the previous few years when it’s in season and guests enjoy it.
What makes your menu at JUSTIN stand out (is it the seasonal and native offerings)?
The menu at The Restaurant at JUSTIN is seasonal, and since the team strives to make use of the freshest ingredients, it’s subject to alter depending on what’s accessible at the moment. Availability could change at any moment depending on the weather, which could end in our team changing the menu last minute. Our team is superb at working with the ingredients that we source and may pivot depending on what we will get our hands on. Our ability to make the local produce and farm-to-table ingredients shine makes the menu stand out. Our concentrate on technique and exceptional flavor pairings brings the perfect out of every ingredient, letting the food shine and allowing our guests to eat recent things they assumed they’d not enjoy.
What advice would you give to other women reading this who is perhaps intimidated about breaking into the culinary industry?
Take a look at your peers as just that—peers, as a substitute of in search of some identifier corresponding to gender that is just not applicable to cooking or teamwork. In doing so, you’ll realize that you just are equal to others, and when you see yourself and treat yourself as an equitable peer, most will see you in that very same light. Don’t make excuses for yourself or anyone else. Hold yourself to the identical or higher standard as others and permit yourself to shine to your talents.