Tuesday, August 17, 2010

How much are local ingredients worth to you?

August 17

For my latest poll, I’d like to ask you how much more you’d be willing to spend for local products in restaurants. Polls being polls, they’re imprecise, so please comment below if you have something to say about what local ingredients are worth paying for (seasonal grapes or corn, say) and which ones aren’t (I don’t know, ketchup maybe).

Thank you.

Regarding my last poll, about what you thought Seamus Mullen would do next now that he has left Boqueria, most readers had no interest in such speculation, but here are the results from the seven voters:

Open a cute snout-to-tail restaurant in New York 3 (42%)

Open a cute snout-to-tail restaurant in another city 1 (14%)

Launch a new burger concept with hopes of turning it into a chain 1 (14%)

Get a job at a country club to make money and live a less hectic life 0 (0%)

Leave foodservice to become a full-time celebrity chef, possibly with a gig on Dancing with the Stars. 0 (0%)

Become a chef at someone else’s restaurant, possibly with Danny Meyer or Steve Hanson 0 (0%)

Something else. 2 (28%)

2 comments:

Mike Wolfson said...

It's my perception, that local ingredients are better. This is for a variety of reasons, including they are fresher, and they are processed less. Using quality ingredients is one of the fundamental rules of making food that tastes great. I go to places with great food (and do pay more knowing better ingredients are used).

sherri maddick said...

I would pay 50-75 percent more! Happily