“Often you don’t think about it, but four or five lives have been touched in the handling of the product before it gets to you. So whether it’s the food prep, the seasoning, or the cooking, there is a care that the kitchen at Terrapin provides to everything it touches.” -Chef Kevin Dubel
Article and photography by Alvin L. Tatum Jr.
Lead photo of Kevin Dubel at Cromwell’s Produce
On a very hot day at the end of August, I made the journey from Hampton to Cromwell’s Produce in Virginia Beach to meet up with Kevin Dubel the Chef de Cuisine at Terrapin. Terrapin has a reputation for sourcing its ingredients local and Kevin was going to give me some insight to this much debated topic of local sourcing.
Kevin is a journeyman in the world of cooking. After an accident prevented him from joining the military, he got his start in Ellington, CT as a dishwasher. After seven years of working his way up the ladder, he decided to take a break from the kitchen. His re-entry point was Vintage Kitchen in Norfolk. He also spent two years at Pacifica before starting his current journey at Terrapin, where he has spent the last four years.
When I arrived, Kevin was already at work with his girlfriend, Amber, and they were speaking with Elizabeth, the daughter of the owner at Cromwell’s. After only a few moments of conversation with Kevin, my mind was spinning from his wealth of knowledge. I was ready to gain a better understanding of the importance of not only sourcing locally, but the impact that it has on the entire process of developing a menu.
Chef Kevin Dubel at Cromwell’s
Kevin explained that the process begins with developing relationships with your local farmers and seeing how everything works first-hand. If he can’t see the process, that’s a red flag to him and he looks elsewhere. Each Sunday, he receives emails from about 18 local vendors letting him know the best items they have on hand. Kevin told me, “Logistically it can be a nightmare, but it’s fun. When items are not available, core elements of the dish may remain, but substitutes happen based on what local farmers provide. This brings an even higher level of due diligence when sourcing locally.”
———————————————————————————————————–
For more on Wasserhund’s German style brewing with a Beach KICK, visit them online at wasserhundbrewing.com or click the flier above.
———————————————————————————————————–
As Elizabeth finished putting Kevin’s order together, we walked out and he gave me a tour of the fields. I asked Kevin, “What does local mean to you”? He explained, “People like to say I’m local all the time, but only 10% of their menu is sourced locally. Local can be as large as the tri-state area, sometimes extending as far as South Carolina for specific items like peaches. I’m not hyper local; ultimately I want to serve the best quality product. I’ve bought items locally and they’ve been terrible. I love shopping locally, but if it’s not good, it’s not good. More than anything, at Terrapin, I think we’re local first and organic second, in my opinion. I can buy a tomato that’s delicious locally or I can buy an organic tomato that comes from California. How does that make sense? There’s a sustainability aspect to it. You ship a tomato across the country just because it’s organic? How much extra did you spend to ship that tomato across the country?
There is always a debate over local vs. organic. I just think that ultimately it just has to be responsible. I believe that responsible sourcing is just as important as organic. Local products last expeditiously longer. When I come to Cromwell’s, its cut fresh, and sometimes lasts up to fourteen days. It makes you wonder how long an item you buy in the store has been in transit when it only lasts three or four days at your home.”
——————————————————————————————————–
For more on the inspired street food at Streats, visit them online HERE!
——————————————————————————————————–
Kevin not only sees shopping local as important, but he respects the ingredients. “Often you don’t think about it, but four or five lives have been touched in the handling of the product before it gets to you. So whether it’s the food prep, the seasoning, or the cooking, there is a care that the kitchen at Terrapin provides to everything it touches.”
As we begin to walk back towards the main area of Cromwell’s, where the stand is located, Elizabeth asks Kevin if he has time to drop something off at another restaurant. I was surprised to learn about the camaraderie with some of the other businesses. Kevin explained, “The only way we’re going to make food better in Virginia Beach, or this area as whole, is to do it together. There is no reason that Virginia Beach can’t be the next Charleston and have the same food explosion they had ten years ago”.
I can definitely agree with Kevin on this. Hampton Roads has a wealth of talent in its kitchens and as long as chefs like Kevin are willing to go the extra mile by sourcing locally, everyone wins.
For more on Kevin Dubel and Terrapin visit them online HERE
No Comments