Chef Heather Hartman of Spoonriver and Café Brenda in Minneapolis loves to teach people about good food. She grew up gardening with her mother, who was raised on a farm and taught Heather how to cook at a young age. Heather feels strongly that, "Everyone needs to know how to cook with local foods at their peak, how to shop at the farmers market, what to do with kale, and how to eat healthy food." She has a passion for the seasonal aspect of cooking, and she says there is no reason "...to eat a mealy tomato in winter."
Heather attended The Art Institutes International in Minneapolis, but learned much of what she knows from Brenda Langton, owner of Spoonriver and Café Brenda, where Heather has been a chef for 12 years. She recalls the advice given to her when starting out, "You really should go work for Brenda; she is one of the best female restaurateurs and she uses natural and healthy ingredients." Heather is now proud to work for one of the leading women in the local and sustainable foods movement.
Many of Heather's seasonal dishes come from Loon Organics, a farm growing over 250 varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers on 40 acres in Hutchinson. As emerging farmers, Laura Frerichs and Adam Cullip of Loon began selling to Brenda's restaurants in 2006, after meeting her while selling their rare, specialty varieties (including heirloom head lettuce, salad mix, chiogga beets, purple and yellow carrots, and purple cauliflower) at the Mill City Farmers Market in Minneapolis. Of the market, Laura gushes, "There is so much energy, life, beautiful food, and fabulous people."
