My Sim Aquarium

Heeding the Harvest, Chefs Vary What's on the Table

The recent news that Sorrento Grille’s executive chef Ryan Adams is taking over the restaurant, to be reopened as The Common Table: Kitchen+Drink come September, is as much about a shift in local food philosophy as a shift in ownership.

Adams’ reinvented eatery, which he has planned as a paean to fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, is the latest in a series of local ventures signaling an appreciation for sustainable food that has taken root among locals.

“The whole food awareness is happening. It’s over the tipping point,” said Laguna resident Sean McCracken, a founder of Transition Laguna and leader of its food group. Transition Laguna, which began about three years ago with a commitment to supporting sustainability of local food, water and energy, has since sprouted a thriving backyard gardening network, further evidence of grassroots support for the locavore movement. They have over 600 people on their e-mail list and host several well-attended events every month, from garden installs to cooking classes.

Elementary school kids are planting gardens, sowing the seeds for understanding food production at a tender age. And the South Laguna Community Garden, which opened in 2009, has a waiting list for its coveted raised beds.

What was once the realm of the socially conscious fringe has blossomed into mainstream awareness about food, its origin and whether its production affects the environment, said McCracken. Transition Laguna’s success taps into people who had already embraced the sustainability ethic and were ready to act, he said.

Anyone opening a restaurant now would be foolish not to incorporate that trend, said McCracken.

Adams made the decision to do just that when he purchased Sorrento Grille from owners Philo and Diane Smith. He has always been an advocate for seasonal and sustainable ingredients and is excited about the opportunity to put his own ideals into action, though a bit nervous about his first solo venture.

“I think it’s for the greater good of everything around us,” said Adams, who sees his approach as taking responsibility to act sustainably. His grandparents, who grew up in the depression and reused everything, were his role models. Today, antiques and salvaged items that he surely will find a use for fill his home.

“It’s also about freshness and flavor,” he said. Carbon footprint aside, how can the taste of a vegetable picked green so it can be shipped from a different hemisphere compare to one ripened on the vine just hours away?

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