Local chefs using on-site herb gardens to flavor dishes
Most chefs – especially if they’re owners – put a high value on landscaping in an effort to increase their restaurants’ curb appeal. Some, though, take it a step further and use their landscaping in their kitchens.
“We have it right up in front,” said Lola Pokorny, chef/owner of Lola’s, A Louisiana Kitchen, of the rosemary, thyme, basil and mint growing outside her restaurant at 241 W. Charleston Blvd. “People walk by it all the time and pick it.”
Mike Wolf, executive chef of Serendipity 3, has a garden on a larger scale just outside the front door of his restaurant at Caesars Palace. Wolf’s garden, which contains mostly herbs with a few vegetables, is about 150 to 200 square feet, right out near the Strip.
And somewhere in the middle is Beni Velazquez, executive chef of Bar + Bistro at 107 E. Charleston Blvd. In the garden on the patio of his restaurant grow rosemary, thyme, Thai basil, lemon basil, chocolate basil, mint and more.
All of them use the fruits of their outdoor labors to flavor the foods of their indoor labors. Pokorny said she uses the rosemary in barbecue seasonings, the thyme in all of her fresh seasonings and the mint as garnish or for catering.
As for Bar + Bistro, Velazquez said, “We use them all for cooking and also at the bar,” where they rest in bowls of cool water until a bartender needs a sprig or two.
And at Serendipity 3, Wolf says, a customer may find ultrafresh tomatoes as part of his or her tomato salad – something that he said only happens about twice a week, because of the high volume of the restaurant and the comparatively low volume of the garden. Still, it’s a pretty special thing, and he tells customers when they’re getting home-grown.
“There’s something to be said for a vine-ripened, picked-that-day tomato,” he said.
Wolf said his garden helps cue passers-by that Serendipity 3 is more than just a place to get ice cream or the signature Frrrozen Hot Chocolate.
“That was one of the many motivations in planting the garden,” he said. “Everybody gets to take a look at it and smell the fresh herbs and see the flowers.”
Sometimes, that’s a bit to his detriment. Just as Pokorny occasionally has passers-by rustlin’ her rosemary, “there have been a couple of times where I have asked people to get out of the garden, but all they’re doing is enjoying it,” Wolf said: ” ‘Look at this artichoke.’ ‘Let’s take a picture while I’m standing in the garden.’ “
Actual vandalism, he said, has been nonexistent despite the proximity to the frequently raucous late-night partiers on the Strip, although that had initially been a concern.
“Fortunately, the public has been very receptive,” he said. “They appreciate the nature, instead of wanting to destroy it.”
But while Wolf knows the garden helps spread the word about his kitchen, “I wasn’t trying to create a marketing ploy. I just wanted to have fresh produce.”
The grandson of a farmer, he gained an appreciation for fresh-from-the-earth produce while working as a chef in the Finger Lakes of upstate New York, gradually acquiring almost all of his produce directly from local growers.
“Farm to table is something I hold close,” he said. “Having gotten to know the farmers and understand what my family went through, I appreciate how much work goes into the produce that does eventually hit our table.”
He envisioned it primarily as an herb garden, he said, and “wanted to plant some other stuff for fun,” such as tomatoes, bell peppers and artichokes.
“I know that with the exception of the mint and the basil, it can’t sustain our needs entirely,” Wolf said. “But any impact we can make lowers our carbon footprint.”
The space, for which he took part in the planning, was planted and is maintained mainly by the resort’s fleet of landscaping staff, although “I do get to go harvest,” Wolf said.
Velazquez, too, gets help with his garden, which was planted about six months ago.
“We have a person who comes in and cleans up the grounds,” he said. “She waters everything, she trims.”
Velazquez said he uses a lot of the rosemary in paella stock and as one of the ingredients in his herb mix. Cilantro is used for some ceviches and for fish tacos and carnitas tacos.
“On a daily basis, the bartenders go and pick through the garden,” he said. “They take rosemary, thyme, Thai basil, lemon basil, Italian basil, and will utilize those for drinks.”
Velazquez estimates that only about 20 percent of the herbs used in his restaurant come from purveyors.
“We have tons of rosemary,” he said. “I rarely buy that. And tons of Thai basil. It’s just been a good item to grow.”
Once the heat of the summer wanes, he said, “I’ll be able to have even more stuff. We planted chives; hopefully we’ll have an abundance of those.”
Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.
