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Photograph by George Sakkestad
Brian Gardiner of American Fresh plucks some fresh beets from one of the Willow Glen gardens he cultivates.
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America Fresh delivers its produce right off the 'farm'
By Suzanne Cristallo
"Never put your tomatoes in the refrigerator!" That's good advice from a pro: Brian Gardiner. He grows the tomatoes, lettuce, basil and peppers used by several of Saratoga's and Los Gatos' finer restaurants. Calling his organic farming company America Fresh, his succulent booty grows in three backyards in Willow Glen. He delivers it plus produce for Stonefree Farms and Organic Opal Blossom Farm in Watsonville.
Gardiner follows his own advice. "I pick my tomatoes in the evening while they're still warm," he says, noting that the right time to pick is determined by a definitive feeling. "There should be a certain amount of spring to the fruit--slightly soft with a certain give. Then I store them in a cool area underground overnight, delivering to the chefs the next morning." He says he has trouble convincing chefs they should not put tomatoes in the refrigerator, because they turn mealy.
By comparison, commercial growers have a logistical problem that prevents them from picking at the right moment, Gardiner notes: "They have to pick as soon as the color changes." The fruit is still firm, allowing for shipping and storage at distributor warehouses. When they finally reach stores, the tomatoes are prime for only about two days, then enzymes break down the cell walls and they become too soft. "At that point, they're good for sauces but not suitable for salads," Gardiner says.
The advantage America Fresh offers is the elimination of the warehousing middle man. Gardiner says he would rather deliver small quantities every day so chefs can use the intensely flavorful, freshly picked fruit immediately.
Gardiner, 58, shares an interest in the company with his wife, Robin, who runs the office. Partner Neil Perrelli handles sales while Ron and Denise Cully design the company web page from their home in Washington. The alliance grew from Gardiner's distaste for tending a lawn at his first home in east Los Gatos. He and his wife moved there from Miami where Gardiner, a native of Wales, ran a company that built computer terminals. "I kept looking at that lawn and decided it was useless stuff," he smiles.
Explaining his drive to plant when he sees land, Gardiner planted his lawn with vegetables. "Robin complained we had too much, and a friend suggested some restaurants might want it." The Plumed Horse in Saratoga was among the first to take advantage of the crop. That was 1986.
Today, the couple live in the Summit Road area, where Gardiner tends greenhouses of seedling tomatoes for planting on his Willow Glen farm. Unlikely as the residential area may seem as a growing ground, it yields crops of heirloom tomatoes that local chefs prize--all from a humble acre of land stretching across the large backyards of three neighbors on Newport Avenue. "I was introduced to one neighbor, then another," he recalls. The neighbors share 10 percent of the harvest.
In addition to select hybrids, Gardiner has 100 heirloom tomato plants and plans to harvest an additional 200 this month. They include the Black Crim from Crimea, a tasty Russian stock essentially unchanged by hybridity, as well as two turn-of-the-century natives: the Brandywine and Prudence. He's also growing several kinds of basil: Genovese, purple and purple ruffles, green ruffles, cinnamon, lemon and the prized Tulsi from India. Fragrant Tulsi is planted around places of worship--hence its nickname of holy basil.
Local restaurants besides the Plumed Horse that use America Fresh are Sent Sovi, The Basin and Viaggio in Saratoga and Aldo's Ristorante & Bar in Los Gatos.
America Fresh, 23470 Sunset Dr., Los Gatos. 353-6380.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
