Ninety per cent of all food consumed in Hong Kong is imported, according to government data. The city has always had farmers, who till the land in the fertile New Territories, but as community consciousness awakens to the health and environmental aspects of feeding the world, even urban dwellers are growing their own produce.
Enlightened restaurants are leading the way in this “farm-to-table” phenomenon.
Homegrown Foods’ founder and CEO Todd Darling was a successful restaurateur in Hong Kong, running a busy steakhouse, when he decided to change his personal direction, and pursue a more wholesome lifestyle. This meant sourcing cleaner, greener and organic produce for use in his new restaurant, Posto Pubblico. For this, Mr Darling and his business partner, fellow American Robert Spina, turned to local farmers.
Natural Connection
“We’d decided that, in order to grow our restaurant business, we needed an efficient way to connect our chefs and farmers,” Mr Darling explained. During that process, he discovered that there was also a missing link between consumers and farmers.
Homegrown Foods was born with a mission to close those gaps. Once it was established, the same farm-to-table values pioneered at Posto Pubblico were brought to the partners’ other restaurants; Linguini Fini and Stone Nullah Tavern.
Today, Homegrown Foods sources and supplies a range of restaurants with fruits and vegetables from organic farms in Hong Kong and around the region. At least 90 per cent of the produce used in the group’s own restaurants comes from these farms, Mr Darling said.
“We lease land under organic management by a farmer, and we have our own farm. We even purchase seeds of special varieties that we want grown and supply them to the farmers.”
The group’s chefs visit local farms on a weekly basis to see first-hand what is being grown in the fields, and to plan new menu items. “By fostering a close relationship between farmers, chefs and our guests,” Mr Darling said, “we are able to effectively communicate these ideas to each group.”
Greener Operation
The rationale is two-fold, Mr Darling explained. “Firstly, locally grown produce tastes better. It's also better for the environment. Promoting local green areas in the New Territories lowers our carbon footprint, supports the local economy, and is better for people’s health. Given what I believe about the relationship between humans, the environment and food, our company must act in a responsible way. I don’t do this only for the money; I do it because I believe I make the world a better place.”
The term farm-to-table is becoming widely used in Hong Kong but Mr Darling is not convinced that it is actually contributing to an increase in agricultural production locally yet. “Consumer awareness is growing, but so is a lot of mixed messaging from companies that do not adhere to true farm-to-table ethos. It will take time,” he said.
Fresh is Best
Louis-Antoine Giroud, a French chef originally from Lyon, is in charge of IPC Foodlab, a farm-to-table restaurant group that promotes locally grown produce, established in early 2012. Working with 15 local farmers in the New Territories, it has turned a disused garment factory in Fanling into an 830 square-metre food bowl, growing a range of fruits and vegetables for use in the company’s restaurants in Fanling and Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island.
The cherry tomatoes, salad greens, fresh herbs, mushrooms, potatoes, zucchini, pomegranates, strawberries, among others, thrive both indoors and on the rooftop, without using pesticides. Demand for this “fresh is best” concept has seen IPC Foodlab launch a third restaurant, a Fanling fine-dining establishment with just eight seats (currently in soft-opening phase), and increase its staff count to about 35.
Chef Louis said their programme of healthy food is all about balance. “I’m not speaking about organic; for me, organic means nothing,” he said. “I want to know exactly where the food is coming from; how it is grown. It’s also the way of cooking, and about educating people as well.”
Food safety in the Chinese mainland, and the simple matter of having to feed the masses, also underpins his philosophy. Shanghai, Chef Louis said, needs more than five million chickens each day to feed its 42 million people; and that’s just one food source in one Chinese city.
“That’s why, when we started IPC Foodlab, we really focused on sourcing and education. My problem is not sourcing, not cooking, or even encouraging people to dine out – we are very busy in our restaurants. My problem now is communicating,” said Chef Louis, explaining his commitment to help “feed the world” through food education.
There are “many reasons” why he chose to do this in Hong Kong.
“I believe that Hong Kong can be a model for many things,” Chef Louis said. “Only 25 per cent of this city’s land is built on – 75 per cent remains as woodland and farmland. I believe that by basing in Hong Kong, which is in the middle of Asia, and very cosmopolitan, we have a better chance to communicate about that.”
A Sustainable City
A corporate social responsibility initiative by real estate services firm JLL is doing much to spread the word. In partnership with local business Time to Grow, social enterprises and NGO partners, the firm runs an urban farm atop the Bank of America Tower in Central.
The farm's mission, which grows a variety of vegetables, is to raise awareness about the potential to make Hong Kong a more liveable, healthy and sustainable city. The farm’s official launch in March 2014 was followed by its first harvest, which was donated to local charity Feeding Hong Kong.
At over 300 square metres, the rooftop farm is one of the largest in Hong Kong. According to JLL, the benefits urban farming can bring to communities can be seen in New York Detroit in the United States and in Havana, Cuba, which has almost 200 urban allotments providing four million tonnes of vegetables each year.
Urban Role Model
William Lai, Head of Property Management at JLL, Hong Kong, said the project sends an important message to the Hong Kong community, particularly those working or living in urban areas such as Central: “it is always possible to improve how sustainable our food system is.”
“Although we are not in the F&B business, JLL believes in living a life that is sustainable and healthy,” Mr Lai said. “We think it is important that people learn about food sources, and realise that the choices we make in promoting sustainable living have tremendous implications for our own health and the well-being of the planet.
“This is one of the main reasons behind the building of our urban farm at the Bank of America Tower. We want people to realise that food can be grown anywhere, even at the top of a commercial building in the CBD. We also believe that we can better utilise the building by turning unused space into a green area, and green buildings will ultimately benefit both the landlord and tenants in a long term.”
Similar to many cosmopolitan cities, Mr Lai acknowledged, Hong Kong faces its own set of environmental and social issues, which call for a concerted effort from all members of society.
“The urban farm will showcase the potential value of growing food in under-utilised urban spaces, and serve as a platform for regular activities and workshops for building tenants and the wider community,” he said. “Workshops can be tailored to provide the technical know-how on running a small-scale organic rooftop farm, as well as raising awareness on sustainable and healthy living.”