Taking It To the Streets

“Taking it to the Streets” is how Parkhurst shares its “sustainable” practices and resources with our dining teams, clients and communities.

Six Parkhurst chefs champion the “Taking it to the Streets” cause.  They are the sustainable food service leaders in the field who share a passion for sustainability and protecting our environment. 

Under the guidance of Jamie Moore, Parkhurst director of sourcing and sustainability, these highly knowledgeable leaders are active in promoting sustainability to our local communities. They provide the guidance, education and “know-how” to organize sustainable events such as local food dinners, coordinate and conduct tours of local farms and promote our continuous focus on sustainable food, green practices and other environmental initiatives.

Parkhurst Sustainable Food Service Leaders in the Field

• Tim Fetter, Executive Chef,
  High Mark Blue Cross Blue Shield (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
• Scott Rattan, Executive Chef,
  Capital University (Columbus, Ohio)
• Scott Steiner, Executive Chef,
  Allegheny College (Meadville, Pa.)
• Kevin Jones, Executive Chef,
  Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore, Md.)
• Frank Hummel, Executive Sous Chef,
  Bucknell University (Lewisburg, Pa.)
• Sean Lockhard, Executive Chef,
  Gywnedd-Mercy College (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Moore and Parkhurst chefs recently attended the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture’s (PASA) 19th annual Farming for the Future conference, the East Coast’s premier agriculture event, held Feb. 4-6, 2010.

Our sustainable leaders attended a “first-time” pre-conference opportunity designed exclusively for Parkhurst chefs and food service managers to further expand their knowledge of sustainable agriculture. 

This was the first time that the conference focused on educating chefs to be more sustainable, learn about agricultural practices and how to apply the following learning practices to their dining operations:

• Certifications: organic and sustainable policies and practices, instruction and discussion on organic topics that appeal to all levels of farmers and food processors
• Pastured poultry and grass-fed meat production.  Parkhurst chefs learned how farms raise top-quality meat and egg-laying poultry on pasture, without polluting their farms or alienating their neighbors.
• An introduction to the principles, processes and the ingredients of lacto-fermentation.  Educators demonstrated techniques for home or small commercial-scale preservation of vegetables by fermentation; and
• Basic cheese making, where Parkhurst chefs created their favorite cheese