Real Talk with Chef - A Dream Come True

Pardon the long ramble…I’m excited.

I was 16 years old when I first realized there was a Farmers Market in Carrboro. It was Sept. 1997 and me and a group of little trouble makers were wandering around a free Squirrel Nut Zippers show there, probably thinking we were a lot cooler than we were. In that moment of adolescent innocence I had no idea how that space would help carve out the person I would become in a career I had no idea I was going to spend my entire life developing. Little did I know that in just a few months I would start a job washing dishes that would spark a fire in me like nothing I had ever experienced before.

From the dish pit I would watch the chefs bake bread from start to finish. I remember smelling the warm yeast smell of the rolls as they were proofing in the box. Then watching them come out of the oven glistening from having been brushed with egg wash. There was something about watching the process of taking raw ingredients and transforming them into such a beautiful and delicious product that really struck a nerve with me. So I started to watch the cooks. I listened to the way they talked, and watched the way they moved. Quickly I became interested in doing more than washing dishes. I applied for a job at Squids under chef Sam Poley. He gave me a chance and taught me how to cook. Throughout the years I worked under Chef Andy Wilson as well. I worked my way through the kitchen at squids for years learning every station in the kitchen, also cutting fish in the market that was attached to the restaurant, and eventually expediting dinner service.

In 2002 I decided that I wanted to learn more on the fine dining side of things so I applied at Il Palio Restaurant in The Siena Hotel under Chef Jim Anile. Just as I had done before, I started learning as much as I possibly could by moving from station to station over the next 9 years and proving my worth through discipline, determination, and dependability.

During my time at the hotel I had the privilege to work for Chef Adam Rose. Chef Rose saw potential in me and gave me my first title - Sous Chef! When Chef Adam arrived in the kitchen he would have already shopped at the farmers market. I remember him coming in the kitchen with a car load of produce. Everything looked so much nicer than the stuff that was delivered every morning on our truck. Adam started teaching me about the importance of buying from local farmers. He taught me about heirloom varieties and even carbon footprint. So at this point in the story we are roughly 10 years after that squirrel nut zippers concert and I'm now shopping at the Carrboro farmers market as a young chef.

I remember talking to Bill Dow about how awesome his arugula was. Never have I ever tasted arugula so spicy! Almost like horseradish. Bill Dow was the first to talk to me about flea beetles and biological pest management. I started meeting and buying from all of the rock star farmers every week. It felt like an honor to be able to talk to them every week. Bill and Daryl, Alex and Betsy, Cathy and Mike, John and Cindy, Ken Dawson, Rose Lyon, Mike Brinkley, George, Howard, Elise, Eliza, and on and on and on. It was an incredible network of people.

As the years went by and relationships were made I started to learn more and more about the growing process as well. Eventually my wife and I began to grow basil, and tomatoes in our front yard. We had a few fig trees, and a peach tree. Then we got hooked. We started to talk about wanting to buy land and to start farming for real. We knew that it would be a slow process and we did not want to go all in on something that didn't make sense financially.

And in 2012, we purchased our (current farm) land right before I took on the role of Executive Chef of The Eddy Pub in Saxapahaw where I could fully flex my own farm to table food experiences supplemented by my own farm food as it grew. Was this the dream? Well…yes…but there was one missing piece yet to be realized…

To paint a more clear picture, when we first bought our farm there was no water, electricity, or home…not even a single fence post or drive way. Nothing, just a beautiful piece of property with a ton of johnson grass. So everything had to be built from scratch, and it has slowly but surely. Today we have full farm infrastructure including a passive solar greenhouse, chicken processing center, a home, and homes for lots of animals as the farm has an orchard, broiler hens, ducks, turkeys, sheep, produce, and flowers. Most of this is due to Whitney's incredible work ethic and fearless dedication to the success of this farm.

In the last few years, we have also grown our family when we unleashed our son Wyatt into the world nearly 4 years ago. As Rocky Run Farm has been long-time vendors at the south durham farmers market and have watched and helped it grow into the busy farmers market that it is today, we have secretly held onto the hope that one day being at CFM would make sense.

So, what is the point of all this Real Talk by Chef you might ask…? Well a few weeks ago we got the news that we had been accepted into the Carrboro Farmers Market as vendors on Wednesday! This is such a dream come true to be bringing these lifelong efforts full circle - and to be present with y’all both IN the restaurant AND the market.

When I think about what the market means to me, my memory is flooded with all good thoughts. All of the times I didn't bring enough checks and vendors would say don't worry about it, just get me next week. Or visions of me loading my car up to the ceiling with canning tomatoes from Dave at SunnySlope Greenhouses. I'm reminded of all of the cooking demos under the gazebo and all of the food brought for fundraiser dinners in the fall. I see the glimpses of the other chefs that shop like Vimala, and Brett, and Aaron, and Bill, and Ben, and Andrea.

I am incredibly honored to stand for once on the other side of the tables and sell our produce to the public and to my chef colleagues in the same place where I learned to appreciate these relationships so many years ago.

The reality is that my wife will be running our stand pretty much every week. I will be there at the beginning of our first market day tomorrow and working with our fantastic Eddy Pub team to create a schedule that allows me to be at the market once a month.

So please come out on Wednesdays and show your support. Thank you all so much.

Chef & Farmer Isaiah and Farmer Whitney

Rocky Run Farm