NORWICH – Dean & Deluca customers will soon be enjoying produce grown right here in Chenango County as a result of a deal between the gourmet food retailer and Norwich Meadows Farm.
“Our debut is Friday,” reported Zaid Kurdieh, who founded the organic farming operation with his wife Haifa in 1998.
According to Kurdieh, Dean & Deluca has been stocking produce from the farm for the last six to eight weeks. But Friday will be his first opportunity to interact with customers at the retailer’s Madison Avenue location.
The event, which will take place weather permitting, will be a chance for Kurdieh to educate New York City consumers about organic farming practices and provide preparation and cooking suggestions for produce currently in season.
The arrangement with Dean & Deluca is a first for Norwich Meadows Farm, which currently sells more than 99 percent of its produce through greenmarkets, community supported agriculture (CSAs) and directly to restaurants in New York City.
At one time they did have a working relationship with natural food grocer Whole Foods, but according to Kurdieh this arrangement is different.
“This is a more close relationship,” he said, explaining that he’s been personally involved with training Dean & Deluca’s produce department staff.
The agreement should prove to be a lucrative one for the organic farming operation, with both Dean & Deluca’s SoHo and Madison Avenue stores stocking its produce. If the relationship works out, there may also be an opportunity to provide fresh vegetables and herbs to the seven cafés the company also operates in New York City.
The additional demand will fuel further growth for Norwich Meadow Farm, which has already expanded exponentially as a result of their success in the New York City market and the support of their business partner Dr. Yusef Harper. The past 12 years have seen the farm grow from a half acre plot behind the Kurdieh’s home to approximately 55 acres, some of which are leased from a neighboring farm.
During their peak season, they employ approximately 25 people, 15 of which are local and the remainder are seasonal field workers brought in from Egypt.
According to Kurdieh, the Egyptians are familiar with the farming principals he uses and have a good work elthic, which make them invaluable to the operation. Because of the complexity of immigration regulations, however, they are unable to obtain work visas to bring in more and are currently struggling to find local workers willing and able to do the job.
They are already experiencing growing pains in another area as well.
“We’ve already run out of production capacity up here,” Kurdieh said. It May, they leased additional acreage in New Jersey. By the end of June, they’d planted 5 acres at that location, and there is the potential to utilize 60 to 80 more. He stressed that this second location is a satellite operation, and he has no plans of pulling out of Chenango County.
In fact, Norwich Meadow Farm has plans to start selling more of its products locally within the next year.
“We’re definitely interested in opening up a store on site,” Kurdieh reported.
The Dean & Deluca deal isn’t the only new feather in Norwich Meadows Farm’s cap. A new cookbook, “Harvest to Heat,” includes two recipes contributed by Chef Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern, which were designed around their produce.
On Monday, Food Network star Aaron McCargo, Jr. will visit Norwich Meadows Farm at the Union Square Greenmarket to film for an upcoming episode of Big Daddy’s House. According to Kurdieh, the segment will be focused on preparing seasonal fall vegetables.
For more information on Norwich Meadow Farm, visit www.norwichmeadowsfarm.com.