The pathway of food

A movement, mission, cause, a way for sustainable business and existence. All these categories can be connected to the practice, called ‘from farm to table’. It is not a new phenomenon. Just the opposite! It was established in the USA in the previous century. As opposed to the modern restaurants, which offer fusion menus with recipes and products from across the globe, the social movement ‘from farm to table’ encourages restaurants and cafeterias to serve food, produced by local farmers. There are plenty of ways for direct produce supply - directly from the producers, from farm markets, or growing your own.

Thе cause ‘from farm to table’ reaches and contributes to resolving many social, ecological and economic issues. It ensures work places at a local level, improves local business relations and influences the attitude to the quality of food and having a healthy lifestyle. In addition, it also promotes and suggests implementing ecological methods for producing fruits and vegetables. At a local level, it excludes the use of pesticides and other chemical products for gardening. Much more can be said about the global aspect of this movement which touches the local producers, farmers, businesses and active citizens but we will not present a full review of the global phenomenon here. Instead, we will introduce the ‘farm to table’ model through our own experience.

Botanica Life Foundation was established in 2015 and a year later we started our own farm in the village of Nadarevo. We were guided by the idea not only to demonstrate how to grow sustainably vegetables, fruits and herbs, but also to implement the concept ‘from farm to table‘. We believe in the power of the local, healthy food and we know that its taste and qualities are unreplaceable even for the most famous gastronomical dishes. For us, this message is passed on and has its greatest impact in the consciousness of the young generations. Children and young people, with their sensitivity to nature and the surrounding environment, understand very well (if it is presented properly) the idea of sustainable and nature-friendly existence. They are the ambassadors who adopt and promote the cause of “pure earth, pure food” and, therefore, a “pure” way of life.

One of the directions we follow as part of the model ‘from farm to table” is that we offer part of our fresh vegetables and herbs for direct sale. In this way, anyone who pays us a visit or who makes an order for garden produce, receives freshly picked vegetables which can be used right away for ensuring excellent food nutrition.

Another part of the production in the garden is directly used in Botanica Life’s kitchen. We dry vegetables and make an amazing mix of them which can be used to add flavor and scents to almost any dish. We prepare different pickles – using one kind or combination of vegetables – we use brine or make wild or lacto-acid fermenting. In this way, for example, we produce the fermented drink tsveklonada (made of red beetroot) which turned into our guests’ favourite drink last winter.

Jams, syrups and frozen fruits are some of our favorite products. We take special pride in our sorgum syrup, made from cold-pressed sugar sorgum.

Our produce can be purchased by our guests on location. What is more, it always attracts a huge interest, and its taste justifies it. In Botanica Life’s Guest House, we serve dishes which include a part of our garden produce. For example, for breakfast we serve pancakes with sorgum syrup or with homemade fig jam. In our kitchen, we cook recipes with the seasonal vegetables we grow and we try to combine the traditional taste with some unexpected add-ins such as stuffed rice in kale leaves, pastries with radish leaves and a homemade yougurt-cucumber-and-wild-purslane cold soup.

Of course, we cannot produce all of the products that we use in our kitchen but we use local farm products to supplement our menu. For example, we buy milk and dairy products from regional producers.

All of the described ‘from farm to table’ activities are our mission, pleasure and sweet work but, at the same time, they are a way to engage in an economic activity. Such an activity generates funding which we invest in the not-for-profit initiatives of the foundation.

We believe in the authentic taste, the power of earth, and in the experience of tasting food, just picked from the garden. We hope that everything we do adds a little more to the promotion of these.

Author: Emiliya Ilieva