True to Forum

Green talk ruled the PA Restaurant Association's first-ever Food and Beverage Forum.

by Will Stone

A funny thing happened at Monday's Food and Beverage Forum: Food proved hard to find. Sure, there was pabulum aplenty, courtesy of a roomful of food-industry exhibitors, but, alas, no toothpicked treats. Settling for a soft pretzel, a sexy hologram-encased Coca-Cola concoction and a scoop of ice cream, I spent the day satisfying a different sort of hunger: In its first year, this Pennsylvania Restaurant Association gathering brought members of the food world to the Community College of Philadelphia to talk relevant trends and issues.

Former White House chef Walter Scheib, who cooked for the Clintons and Bushes, presided over much of the day, recounting his ascent to the First Chef spot and divulging juicy presidential dining quirks, including W's distaste for "green things" and "wet fish." (Aren't they all wet at some point?) While the showing of big-name Philly restaurants was meager, the city's growing base of sustainable food organizations arrived in full force. Scheib moderated a panel titled "Fresh, Local, Sustainable," which brought together Fair Food Philly, The Food Trust, sustainable purveyor River & Glen and the Center for Culinary Enterprise, a West Philly community-building project. Prefacing his talk by claiming to be a "simpleton" and a "college dropout," Scheib himself dished out questions about sustainability ("What's that?") and locally grown produce ("Where do I go?").

The green team then fielded more complex questions from an audience whose concerns were myriad. They chatted about the pressure to serve popular but threatened species (think Chilean sea bass) and educating consumers about the inherent limitations of local/seasonal sourcing. Ultimately, a pivotal question facing Philly restaurants hinges on the casual diner: Do, and should, Philadelphians trust the credibility of chefs when they say the tail cut is as delicious as the fillet? Can everyone accept the certitude that tomatoes don't grow in Pennsylvania during the wintertime?

"Above all else, delicious food relies on full flavors, done simply, with fresh produce," said Scheib, recalling his first family dining philosophy, rooted in no-nonsense, homegrown American cooking. "People will eat seasonal, if that's what's best."

The panelists agreed. "This is a call to arms," said Fair Food Executive Director Ann Karlen, echoing Scheib's gung-ho approach to local and fresh food. "Go up to your grocer. Ask him, how he can call himself a grocer while selling you this crummy tomato? And don't settle."

(will.stone@citypaper.net)