Can you eat a tomato in March? Of course you can…but will it be as amazing an experience as it would be in late August? Of course not. At the Halford where we get our food is just as important as how we prepare and serve it. Living in agriculture rich state like California, we have an unwritten obligation to Mother Nature to only serve the best of what each season has to offer. We literally have a bounty of farms, fisherman, ranchers etc etc, located in our backyards that owned and staffed by people as passionate as we are (see Spade and Plow Organic Farm, Water2table and Brandt Farms to name a few).

Eating an heirloom tomato picked at the peak of its ripeness, cutting into a salmon so fresh it is still in the throes of rigor mortis, smoking a brisket that tastes of the land and of the grass it ate…these are all experiences that shape and change one’s life. Am I waxing poetic? Yes, probably, but I don’t care because as a Chef it’s my duty and challenge to bring these same experiences to your dinner table.

I work closely with all my purveyors, constantly seeking out the best in what they have to offer, always striving to discover something new and exciting. Making a ribeye steak taste good is easy (well relatively speaking) but making something humble like spinach or potatoes really shine, now that takes some skill. As we move into the hottest part of the year, our palettes begin to shift and we crave brighter or vibrant flavors. Heirloom varieties of every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable are being harvested each day, begging us to come up with some new creative recipe, or in some cases just to be sliced and served as is. So I guess my point is this, can you eat a tomato in March? Yes, but why would you want to? Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get off this soapbox, cause a new shipment of peaches just came in, and I want to eat one that is still warm from the sun.

Chef Matt