Bringing Nutritious Food to the Table Takes Many Skills, Roles, and Tools

In many of our Chocolates and Tomatoes Farm posts, we talk about various parts of the process in bringing nutritious food to the table, but it might not always be obvious. Over this next year, we are going to try to be a little more intentional in some of our blog posts about making those links, and sharing the art and science (whether you learned these skills in a classroom, in kitchen, in a field, from your relatives, your employers, or from someone with the title of teacher, you know it takes time to build the skills). We will write about topics such as:

Warming the soil for planting

Tilling to prep for planting

Bringing in nutrients for the soil

Starting the plants small and warm

Kale begins its outdoor adventure

Tomato babies growing months ahead

• Farming Knowledge, Skills, and Tools

  ALL of our farming practices are geared towards bringing you a wide variety of sustainably grown fruits, herbs, and vegetables.

  • Planning ahead (all pics are examples of planning ahead and working ahead to bring summer harvests)

  • Healthy seeds

  • Healthy soil

  • Farm tools

  • Sustainable farming practices/balancing with nature

  • Pollinators

  • Harvesting and storing until sale

• Cooking Knowledge, Skills, and Tools

  Our cooking classes vary -- some focus on nutrition -- others not so much. They all support you in expanding the range of flavors and ingredients you feel comfortable with and enjoy making. Some bring out your inner artist.

  • Planning ahead

  • Selecting ingredients

  • Creating pleasing flavors and textures

  • Maintaining nutrients

  • Balancing dietary needs

  • Cooking tools

When our Chocolates and Tomatoes on-farm market starts in just a few weeks, most of what we sell at the tables, we grow here at the farm. Yes, we do lots of the work ourselves, but we all rely on someone somewhere for part of what you see (we didn't make our own tools, many people taught us skills along the way, the seeds we use come from around the country, someone else nurtures our pollinators, etc.). We are happy to contribute to bringing you fresh food that you love, but we are just one part of the puzzle.

Chef/Farmer Mark has learned his trades many ways over the years and he is eager to share what he knows with you whether that is chatting at the farm tent, in a class at The Learning Kitchen at Chocolates and Tomatoes Farm, OR in one of the classes he teaches at Frederick Community College's Hospitality, Culinary, and Tourism Institute (where he received recognition for his teaching this year).

• If you are already a culinary professional and want to learn more about bringing nutritional balance to your food, tailoring to alleviate inflammation or address allergies, then check out the Culinary Medicine program!

  • You can cover all the courses you need for certification in the summer, while attending in person or virtually, and a scholarship may be available. Reach out to Elizabeth DeRose, the Health Meets Food contact.