LAKE SWAMP FARM: Elevating the Farm-to-Table Experience
By Beth Dalbec
FARM-TO-TABLE: Fresh locally grown food from a farm that goes directly from the farm to the table, bypassing stores, markets, or distributors.
LOCAVORE: An eco-conscious consumer who eats foods grown locally whenever possible to reduce transportation needs and support local farmers in their community.
FOOD TRACEABILITY: The ability to identify the movement of a food product and its ingredients through all steps in the supply chain.
Chef Adam Kirby wears many hats. Not only does he have a long history of being a chef and owner of multiple restaurants, but a few years ago he branched out and added farmer and farm owner to his bio, a move that further elevates his status in the “farm-to-table” and “locavore” movements emphasizing quality, freshness, sustainability, and community.
Though there were many driving forces behind Kirby venturing into the farming scene, a big reason was the scarcity of supply and quality of the ingredients he was seeing. Wanting something better for his restaurants, he realized a solution within his control was to grow those things that he couldn’t get his hands on easily. Essentially, the farm came from a place of “necessity, curiosity, and a love of food.” His approach was quite simple, “sometimes you just need to throw it in the ground and see what happens.” And that is what he did. The result was a collaboration with farmer/partner George “Trey” Gastar to establish Lake Swamp Farm, a 60-acre farm located on a bluff 30 miles inland from Pawleys Island where Kirby’s restaurants (Bistro 217 and Rustic Table) and store (Driftwood Mercantile) are located.
At Lake Swamp Farm, Kirby is getting his hands in the soil to grow those items that had previously been hard to acquire. It’s been successful, and last year over 15,000 pounds of produce was harvested and used in his restaurants. At the farm, there are fields of speckled butter beans, lima beans, field peas, corn, okra, carrots, beets, rutabagas, turnips, mustard greens, kale, and collards. There are multiple varieties of potatoes, onions, squash (patty pan, round, and variegated), tomatoes (heirloom, cherry, grape, and teardrop), and mushrooms (chicken of the woods, black trumpets, cauliflower, and golden chanterelles). There are 10 acres of potatoes, 20 acres of corn, and over 150 fruit trees in the orchard (fig, peach, apple, pears, apricots, cherries, plums, and citrus). And if that wasn’t enough, Kirby has 20 bee hives to make sure plant
pollination happens; the bees pollinate the plants and the honey is used in the restaurants and also sold in the Drift- wood Mercantile store.
Having access to fresh ingredients at the farm has enhanced the dining experience at his restaurants which are already known for their fresh local ingredients, including unique and harder-to-find ingredients. Not only are diners interested
in quality and freshness, but they are also interested in food traceability—knowing where their food comes from. More and more, diners are taking the time to inquire about where the ingredients were sourced and how it was grown. Kirby says his reward is that diners are interested in his farm and are often surprised to hear that the guy cooking the food GREW the food too. Knowing where your food came from is now becoming part of the dining experience, and Kirby has built (or grown) that into what you can expect when you visit his establishments.
It’s a labor of love fueled by a love of good food made up of fresh quality ingredients; it’s hard work and constant. Kirby says the work is never finished as there is always something to be done, whether it’s planting, harvesting, weeding, making improvements, and planning for the future by rotating crops. It’s a lot of trial and error, too, trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Right now, Kirby is putting up a fence so they can expand the farm to include cattle and chickens.
Kirby attributes his success to ingenuity, hard work, and surrounding himself with knowledgeable people. Working together with restaurant partner Anne Hardee and the chefs Elvis Xhani, Raiford King, and Billy Horner, the menus
are true culinary snapshots of the season. When visiting his restaurants, be sure to be on the lookout for these specials as the chefs create upwards of eight specials each day for each restaurant. You don’t want to miss the specials as they are planned in the mornings and based on what is fresh and at peak. Also, stop into Driftwood Mercantile to support local artists and jewelry makers, and maybe even try some of the honey and other products from the bees of Lake Swamp Farm.
Inspired yet? If you’re looking to start small and create your own “garden-to-family table” experience, Kirby recommends a few easy things to try in small home gardens, such as cherry tomatoes or teardrop tomatoes which don’t require stakes.
If you love squash, consider growing round squash and patty pan squash because they do not spread out. Lettuce in winter is always one of his favorites.