Nathalie Johnson hasn't always satisfied all of her career passions in the kitchen. Before her incarnation as the chef and co-owner of Signature Caf´ and Catering, she worked for the Clinton administration as a domestic policy analyst and was district co-chair for Paul Wellstone's Senate campaign. Perhaps that's why she has taken such a nontraditional approach to the restaurant business, infusing her food with entrepreneurial spirit and small business sense.
The Willmar, Minnesota native also has an appreciation for other entrepreneurs - especially the small family farms that supply the restaurant. The food at Signature is also infused with a certain Mediterranean flair, a remnant of the restaurant's past life as an Egyptian caf´. Traditional dishes, like spinach pie and falafel, are blended with newer creations that showcase farm-fresh ingredients, such as the three-berry pie and lemon-thyme chicken.
Nathalie treasures her access to high quality ingredients, grown within the region by careful stewards of the land. For example, the café relies on the award-winning butter produced by PastureLand Cooperative, a small group of Food Alliance certified, grass-based dairy farms in southeastern Minnesota, whose member farms are committed to using a whole farm approach to raising animals by forgoing hormones and antibiotics. She also delights in using the fresh, organic vegetables from David Massey's Northwoods Organic Produce. David, another Food Alliance Midwest certified farmer, has been an organic gardener for 40 years and loves experimenting with heirloom seeds, growing a wide array of beautiful and delectable vegetables.
