Stirring the Pot for Local and Farm Fresh
Stirring the Pot for Local and Farm Fresh
John-Paul Andronici brings his love of culinary creations to Alstede Farms, setting the table for the first Food & Beverage Manager position. Alstede Farms transcends the farm-to-table experience with this new position planting the seed for a sprouting hospitality department. John-Paul brings his corporate chef experience, fine dining acumen, and his hospitality background to elevate… Read More »
John-Paul Andronici brings his love of culinary creations to Alstede Farms, setting the table for the first Food & Beverage Manager position. Alstede Farms transcends the farm-to-table experience with this new position planting the seed for a sprouting hospitality department. John-Paul brings his corporate chef experience, fine dining acumen, and his hospitality background to elevate the culinary experiences on the farm. There is so much produce coming out of the fields, high tunnels, and greenhouses year-round that the need to hire a manager to bring all the farm experiences together arose. When asked about his ambitions at Alstede Farms, Chef JP responded that he is interested in “bringing more of the farm to the proverbial table, it’s that simple”. Chef JP plans to utilize more in-season produce to introduce guests to the values of eating local and farm fresh.
Chef JP began his employment this past summer and went right to work redesigning the menus on the farm to meet the consumer’s appetites for more farm-to-fork recipes and to meet the needs of ever-changing dietary requirements and healthy lifestyle preferences. Chef JP is responsible for overseeing the food and beverages for our retail store, our numerous food concessions, including the Hen House, and these other stations namely; potato roaster, corn roaster, kettle corn, doughnut haus, and our new Pizza oven. JP also oversees the field to fork catering for our special events and party spaces and supervises our ice cream window utilizing fresh fruits and honey in the creations. Chef JP approaches food from a sustainable mindset and is thoughtful about preserving our fruits and vegetables to use in other dishes later in the season, such as making tomato purees for soups and stews, strawberry purees for ice cream and slushies, and apple sauces for homemade pancake topping and baked goods.
His eye for quality and attention to flavor help guide the final product. JP is excited to be able to work with so many different varieties of
fresh fruits and vegetables and loves the challenge of working with them in season bringing the dishes to the next level with taste, flavor and nutrition. When asked about his favorite dishes to prepare on the farm, JP immediately said “ pasta dishes” aligning to his families native roots of Italy. JP enjoys elevating palates and expanding taste buds using recognizable Italian dishes. JP feels that transforming an already loved and familiar dish is a great way to introduce families to the flavors of local fresh produce making them more apt to eating the necessary rainbow of fruits and veggies everyday. JP loves a good culinary challenge and thrives on determining ways to incorporate more of the bounty of our homegrown fruits and vegetables into our farm recipes.
Chef JP’s ultimate goal is to create a “restaurant encounter” where guests can savor the various farm to table eateries on the farm to enjoy sampling the same delicious food they experienced picking in the fields that day for a true full field to fork excursion. JP and his culinary team plan to introduce a new pizza trailer later this year featuring homemade pizza made from farm fresh ingredients that is wood fired to crispy perfection. Just imagine all the amazing toppings the will be created from the fresh ingredients coming from the fields this season.
JP is offering a weekly fresh homemade soup for pick-up along with Cauliflower or Chicken Wings for the Big Game in our farm store. His ambition for expanding masterfully made soup to our farm store was from a family member, Chef George Morrone, who wrote a soup cookbook where JP draws inspiration from along with his familial food ingenuity. JP has instilled his Chef inspired love of food to his daughters, ages 5 and 3, along with his wife, who love cooking at home together. Their favorite mealtime activity is called “mystery basket” where they get inventive crafting a delicious dish from the items in the basket. He and his family also love to experiment with cooking, any and all, egg dishes at home, as they enjoy harvesting fresh eggs from their own chickens in their small backyard family garden.
Stay tuned for more exciting dishes coming from our farm kitchen while JP continues to stir the pot creating more awareness of eating local and farm fresh. Best wishes from our farm kitchen to yours! XO
