Bistro Les Gras- Northampton

For Daniel Martinez, the owner and head chef at Bistro Les Gras in Northampton, buying locally is a “way of life” rather than a mere business strategy. “We have this lifestyle instilled in us,” he said. “My wife and I come from agricultural backgrounds. This has always seemed like the natural way to do it. And then there’s the flavor. I don’t think you can say enough about how much better everything tastes when it’s fresh rather than supermarket.”
            Daniel opened Bistro Les Gras in 2008 with the help of his wife, Beth, and together they have achieved the challenging balance of serving up authentic, French cuisine while remaining loyal to local food sources.

Before moving to Northampton, Daniel lived in New York. “I was big on the farmers markets there,” he said. And when he later moved to Portland, Oregon, he again claimed that there too “eating local was very easy.”

“In fact, it’s pretty hard not to eat locally in these areas,” he said. “My philosophy is based around the notion that local food just tastes better. That’s the point we try to get across because it’s the easiest for people to obtain.”

When he finally arrived in the Valley, he was impressed by the sheer number of farms in the area as well as the community’s increasing awareness of local eating.

“I’ve seen a big change just in the past year,” he said. “With the presence of the Tuesday market and the growing popularity of young farmers, I think we’re headed in a great direction.”

Daniel based the Bistro Les Gras menu in his love for classic French dishes and flavor combinations. So how does one do global cuisine locally? It is certainly an added challenge when working with such ingredients as duck and rabbit, but the restaurant has managed to seek out local venders. Daniel has used La Belle Farms in New York for Foie Gras, “But recently,” he said, “a local farmer just called us saying he is raising rabbits and ducks, so from now on we’ll be all Pioneer Valley for meats.”

Bistro Les Gras buys other meats from Mockingbird Farm in Easthampton and River Rock Farm in Brimfield. For produce, Daniel goes foraging for ingredients such as mushrooms and wood sorrel, and for bulk orders The Kitchen Garden in Sunderland and Town Farm in Northampton deliver regularly.

“We’re actually really close to the point that were becoming friends,” Daniel said of his relationship with the farmers, “We see them so often, and we have the same belief system and ideals.”

            But these ideals are not always appreciated or fully understood by customers.

“I think getting people to understand our price point is challenging. They don’t understand the difference between getting pork from large company for a reduced price and the price I pay at a farmers market. It’s hard to make them understand that what they’re paying for is to have local ingredients.”

There are also other difficulties in following nature’s often-unpredictable game plan so faithfully. Daniel expressed the challenge in working with the seasons, but also the excitement. 
“In the winter it’s hard to not make it look like there’s just potatoes on the menu—you have to get creative. Certain things you plan for don’t work out as well; there are a lot of quick menu changes. But that’s kind of the fun of it.”

It’s this passion and optimism that keeps the restaurant going. “We’re in an area that’s incredibly fertile, we have these great young farmers bringing new blood to the industry—the willingness is here. I just hope [local] doesn’t become a white noise like ‘organic’ has. I hope the smoke screen doesn’t appear.”

Bistro Les Gras certainly stays true to the most ardent localvore’s criteria. The restaurant makes it the entire year using about 90% local ingredients, and it bases its monthly menus around what is in season. (“You’ll see a lot of parsnips, potatoes, turnips and carrots December through March,” said Daniel.)

So order some gnocchi made with local eggs, local wheat, pistou from Vermont cheese, and local tomatoes. And enjoy the fresh tastes of the Valley flawlessly disguised as bona fide French flavors. 

Images courtesy of Bistro Les Gras website