October Earth to Table Dinner
with Chef Michael Martir
October 23, 2010 6:30pm
Appetizers
Grilled Romaine, Pickled Purplette Onions, Herbed Citrus Dressing
Farmer Jones’ Mixed Greens, Roasted Mixed Root Vegetables, Golden Balsamic Vinaigrette
Blistered Beet Salad, Toasted Walnuts, Meyer Lemon Dressing and Brie Cheese Toast
Sugared Squash Potage Chive Crème Fraiche
Entrees
“Neck and Beans" - Little Neck Clams, Spicy Sausage, Northern White Beans and Broccoli Rabe
Coffee Ancho Glazed Short Ribs
Chef's Garden Earth to Table Vegetables
Herbed Russian Banana Fingerling Potato Roesti
Caramelized Fennel and Parsnip Salad
Purple Brussels Sprouts, 'Melted Shallots'
Dessert
Ohio Orchard Apple Crumble, Cinnamon Ice Cream
$55 per person plus tax and gratuity
Reservations are required 419-499-7500
About the Chef
Originally from New York City, Chef Michael Martir remembers at a very young age his great uncle going to work as a chef at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. His mother also spent 12 years at the Russian Tea Room as a server. The restaurant industry was in his blood—growing up he had jobs in deli’s, fast food restaurants and even a diner. However, his family balked at the thought of a career in the industry and insisted he go to college. Coming from a background of hard work but limited finances, he decided to get a job on a commercial fishing boat to pay his way through college (and which provided an education in fish along the way).
Stationed out of Greenport and Montauk, Long Island, Chef Michael took small jobs in the Hamptons when the fish were not running. Working as a dishwasher and prep cook at such notable establishments as Nick and Toni’s, Sapore de Mare, was all it took to give him the ‘fine dining’ bug. Chef Michael moved back to NYC, where he began his culinary career as most young chefs do—taking jobs to build a resume. With stops at Le Cirque with a young Daniel Boulud and Tribeca Grill with Don Pintabona and Drew Nieporent, Chef Michael decided to go to Paris and experience cuisine through a different eye. This brief time instilled the importance of the chef and farmer relationship, something he could not find back in the states at the time.
After a brief stint in Paris, Chef Michael returned to the U.S. but, missing the European attitude towards cooking as a career instead of a job, he decided to get out of the industry all together. He talked to a friend who told him to get involved with the James Beard Foundation. He came as a volunteer one night and the rest was history. “I distinctly remember the night I was assisting Michael Ayube from Cucina Café in Brooklyn when I happened to look up. Julia Child and Jacque Pepin were walking in. They were coming in for a board of trustees’ dinner and here I was prepping for them.’’ That’s heavy pressure for someone at an impressionable age. The next day he quit his “normal” job and called to volunteer full time for 13 months, while picking up odd banquet jobs along the way to pay the bills.
After leaving James Beard, his next position was in public relations as a nationwide chef co-coordinator for such clients as Conde Nasts’ Bon Appetit, City-Meals-on-Wheels, and Wines of Spain. During this time Chef Michael worked with many notable chefs such as Charlie Trotter, Julia Child and Jean-Louis Pallidan. After moving to Baltimore to work with Chef Peter Timmins of Greenbriar fame at Baltimore Country Club, and also working in Washington D.C. for Capitol Restaurant Group, Chef Michael’s wife convinced him to move to Charleston, South Carolina, where he hooked up with Robert Carter at Peninsula Grill. The next stop was at the renowned Charleston Place in Charleston, where his friend Bob Waggoner recommended him. While Chef Waggoner did not have a permanent place for him, he referred him to a job at The Palmetto Grill in the Charleston Place Hotel.
In 2001, Chef Michael moved to Cape Cod to serve as Executive Sous Chef at Wequassett Inn Resort and Golf Club. After five years he made the move all chefs do in their careers, he went for the executive chef position and joined internationally acclaimed Chatham Bars Inn. Chef Michael’s cuisine is shaped by a philosophy that he practices: That is, simple preparations and the daily involvement of working with his staff. He says “The industry today has to realize that it takes more than one person to make a guest experience memorable and that we have the responsibility to train young people about the realties of the industry. I train my staff in every way to succeed in the industry, the most important ingredient is from them…Effort.”
Chef Michael’s success began by teaching proper technique and then allowing his chefs to explore their creative side, while serving food the way it was meant to be. “My philosophy on food is quite simple,” he says. “It should be as fresh as possible, carefully selected with simple preparations that allow the natural product to shine through and complimenting each dish with textures and supporting flavors, with a wide variety of choice that reflects national, international and most importantly regional tastes. In short, the very best of modern cuisine.
In 2006 Chef Michael joined Smithfield Foods as corporate executive chef and the following year became the Global Director of Culinary Services. After 3 years of living through the corporate world of food and how it’s presented to the public he followed his true passion of opening his own restaurant, Harvest. Harvest is a place to sit down and have an exceptionally prepared meal rooted in culinary excellence for a reasonable price but as it exists at the intersection of performance and everyday life, it turns an ordinary business proposition into a social sculpture. Harvest makes available all the physical elements and activities of an ordinary restaurant for customers along with cooks, servers, farmers, activists, community members and educators to develop creative projects that extend the vernacular of food to social, political, economical and environmental issues.
Harvest Restaurant is philosophically serving SOLE food or Sustainable, Organic, Local, and Ethical. SOLE food is part of a larger movement to change the way that people eat, and the sources of their food. Chef Martir believes that eating SOLE food will help people to live longer, healthier lives, and will also benefit the environment. He also believes that it is important to combine all of the elements of SOLE, as food could be organic but not ethical, or local but not sustainable. It is hoped that SOLE food will enhance our connection to the environment, food producers, and our food. Adherents of the SOLE food movement range from proponents of slow food worldwide to major corporations, which are trying to change the way they care for their employees and the world.
Subsequently he opened HarvestCart – a mobile food truck that serves restaurant quality food with out all the fanfare of a high end restaurant. By serving dinners at farms and around the community Chef Michael can truly show the freshest ingredients possible at affordable prices, “Being able to go out to dinner during these times is difficult, so we want to keep that high level of dining awareness as well as still showcase local bounty, but more importantly how we stand together as a community” Accordingly, Chef Michael participates in as many food events and programs as he can. This feeds his creative interpretation of food, nourishes his desire to stay abreast of the latest food trends and satisfies his need to continually build on his skills as well as maintain his friendships with chefs nationwide who share the same philosophy as himself. . “What's more, we are developing a program that truly inspires our industry, providing the platform from which young professionals can build their careers, farmers can understand how there products effect a local community and encourages the development of the next generation of hospitality professionals, because in the end it is all about what we give back.”