Eco-Gastronomy at Glen Brook
The following article, written by
Ash Sheehan, culinary director at Camp Glen Brook, was first published in a slightly different form in
Lilipoh magazine in its Spring 2008 issue.
It does not take much persuasion to get campers and students at Glen Brook to pay attention to anything related to food. Eating has a natural inescapability: it’s a large part of what we do, day in and day out. A new program, Eco-Gastronomy (biodiversity and pleasure on the plate) at this camp gives children (and adults) the chance to experience the pleasure of eating from the garden, along with the moral satisfaction of doing the right thing for ourselves and the planet.
Through the Eco-Gastronomy program, students and campers prepare garden beds, plant seeds and seedlings, tend crops, and harvest produce. By participating in these activities, participants begin to understand the cycle of food production. Vegetables, grains, and fruits grown in soil rich with the compost of last year’s harvest, are elements of seasonal recipes prepared by children in the kitchen. The program goes full circle with the children taking vegetable scraps back to the compost area at the end of each meal. The children’s involvement in the process of growing vegetables for the camp decreases the need for outside sources of produce and minimize the amount of transportation (as of this writing fuel costs were just shy of $4 per gallon nationwide) that occurs to provide everyone with fresh foods.
The existing organic farm and gardens at Glen Brook are undergoing a transformation into a biodynamic farm. Recognizing that biodynamic farming is one of the most sustainable agricultural practices, children learn not only that vegetables actually have more flavor and juices when grown this way, but through this process they learn to be patient and observe and understand the natural rhythms that occur in nature. Campers are involved in the making of the biodynamic preparations as well as applying the preparations to the compost and gardens.
Children also have the opportunity to work with farm animals, with the long-term goal to prepare only animal products that come from the farm. That plan includes egg-laying chickens as well as broilers and possibly beef cattle. With the future addition of steer – the centerpiece of a biodynamic farm – the camp will have its own minimal supply for red meat consumption as well as the ability to utilize manure for soil fertility.
Glen Brook’s Eco-Gastronomy program involves a well-blended daily rhythm for all visiting programs: children partake in the transformation of fresh products from the farm into ingredients of some of their favorite dishes. The kitchen session begins with cleaning the day’s fresh produce from the garden. They discuss the recipe that is to be prepared and have an opportunity to taste each ingredient, which helps children have a better understanding of how a recipe can be different with the slightest changes. Through this hands-on experience in the kitchen, they learn new vocabulary, basic concepts and social skills.
Eco-Gastronomy provides a context in which to teach children in a delicate manner that if they choose to consume mass-produced fast food, they are supporting a network of supply and demand that is destroying local communities and traditional ways of life all over the world. However, if they choose to eat fresh food in season, locally grown by farmers who take great care of the earth, then they are contributing to the health and stability of local agriculture and local communities.
Concerns about the social, political, economic, and environmental viability of rural and local communities is part of why Glen Brook’s program is so necessary at this moment in our history. Food ties us to all these issues and brings all these disparate forces together.
Camp Glen Brook offer wholesome meals served family-style, usually made from high quality, fresh ingredients rather than prepared foods. We always offer a tasty vegetarian alternative. Candy, soda, or junk food are very rare and packages from home are screened.