Description

In this episode of the Find Dining Podcast, we speak with Chef Matt Jennings of Farmstead, the James Beard Award nominee and three-time Cochon 555 champion who will deliver the keynote address at the first Taste Trekkers Food Tourism Conference. We talk about his journeys as a chef and cheese buyer, the importance of the farm-to-table movement, and the proper way to dig for clams.

• Find out more about the Taste Trekkers Food Tourism Conference
• Visit the Farmstead Inc. website
• Matt is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont
• Matt was a cheese buyer for the Formaggio Kitchen in Boston
• Kate Jennings is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, Napa Valley
• Paul Bertolli and Michael Tusk are two California chefs that influenced Matt
• The Wall Street Journal featured Matt in this story on buttermilk
• National Public Radio featured Matt in this story on happy pigs
• Matt has filmed an episode of PBS' Moveable Feast with Fine Cooking with Boston chef Ken Oringer
• Matt won the Cochon 555 competition three years in a row
• Shouts out to Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats in San Francisco and Jamie Bissonnette of Coppa in Boston
• Matt's former Chef de Cuisine Benjamin Sukle just opened up Birch to rave reviews

Food for Thought:

• Q: What piece of equipment is used when digging for Quahogs (clams)?
• A: A bull rake.

Out of the Frying Pan Picks:

• Favorite Place to Buy Pork: from Pat McNiff of Casey Farm and Blackbird Farm at the Hope Street Farmers' Market
• Recommended Cheese: Harbison from the Cellars at Jaspar Hill
• Chefs Who Have Influenced Matt: David Miles of the New England Culinary Institute, Amanda Lydon and Gabriel Frasca, and Ihsan Gurdal of Formaggio Kitchen
• Admired Rhode Island Chefs: Beau Vestal at New Rivers, Derek Wagner at Nick's on Broadway, Matt Genusio at Chez Pascal, Benjamin Sukle at Birch, James Mark at North