Here we will pro­file peo­ple in this province who have helped to shape the way we eat, cook and think about food.

Antony John, farmer

Stratford Farmer, Antony John

As the owner of Soiled Reputation, Antony, has devoted his career to organic greens and veg­eta­bles. His farm in Stratford grows all year round thanks to four large green­houses. “Except for a few tough weeks in January and February, we’re pick­ing all year.” he recently told Gremolata.

Those greens end up on the menus at restau­rants all over the city and have sparked our cur­rent insa­tiable inter­est in fresh, organic produce.

Where did you start out in the food world?

I started out right after uni­ver­sity, work­ing for Tina’s dad on his dairy farm.  From there it was land­scap­ing for The Old Prune and Rundles in Stratford, and even­tu­ally grow­ing food for them.

What changes have you seen over the years in how the peo­ple you meet feel about local farm­ers and food?

I came into this at the bot­tom of the pen­du­lum, where I’d get quotes from chefs like “I don’t care if it’s local or organic, as long as it’s green”.  I say pen­du­lum because, up until the 1950’s, mar­ket gar­den­ers in North America were respected crafts­men.  I feel that tra­di­tion is only recently enjoy­ing a rennaissance.

What is your favourite vegetable?

I’d have to say the Romanesco cau­li­flower is my favourite veg­etable, because it rep­re­sents so much for me.  First, it’s flavour is remark­able, it stays a vibrant, life-affirming char­treuse when you roast it, it’s the best exam­ple of frac­tal geom­e­try and a Fibonacci math­e­mat­i­cal sequence in the liv­ing world, and it’s struc­ture is a per­fect visual metaphor for the con­nect­ed­ness and com­plex­ity of ecosys­tems and food webs.  Lastly, it’s only around for a few weeks, so enjoy it while you can, just like life!

farm ani­mal?

I’ve worked with most farm ani­mals over the 25 years I’ve been farm­ing, and I’d have to say it’s the Holstein dairy cow

sea­son?

Spring is my favourite sea­son — it’s still full of poten­tial and promise, you haven’t screwed any­thing up in the field yet, and song­birds are migrat­ing back from their win­ter homes!

Where are some of your favourite places in Ontario for food/drink?

Perth County has some of the most pro­duc­tive soils in Ontario for grow­ing food, an envi­ous com­bi­na­tion of clay and loam, cou­pled with fairly reg­u­lar rains from Lake Huron. Just as in vini­cul­ture, this has a trickle-down effect into the flavour of the food. In addi­tion, Stratford is blessed with a vibrant culi­nary scene, so I’m lucky and glad to eat right here!

For wine, I head to Marin Malivoire’s win­ery and sam­ple (ok, hoard) his incred­i­ble wines. After that, we might go back to join him and Moira at home and cook together. Two Soils = One Passion.

the farmer as a young cowboy