Upon hearing that an individual does not like a certain food, Brussels sprouts for instance, the response is invariably something along the lines of, “You just haven’t had it prepared the right way.” From the culinary outsider’s perspective, preparation is where it all happens, that thing that makes or breaks a dish. However, that trend is changing and more and more we’re realizing preparation is only the final step in a much longer process.

A good dish comes from good ingredients, and to eat the best you have to start with the best. At Geraldson Community Farm in Bradenton, the staff and volunteers commit themselves wholeheartedly to this concept, using sustainable practices to continually deliver high-quality organic produce to its members, as well as markets and local restaurants.

A family farm since the 1950s, the land was eventually sold to the County before being purchased by Geraldson Community Farm, a community supported agriculture program that utilizes partnerships with local individuals and organizations to maintain the crops while sharing the harvest, which kept the Geraldson name in homage to those that came before.

Certified organic in 2007, the farm utilizes no herbicides or restrictive pesticides and shuns the use of GMO or treated seeds. At Geraldson, sourcing locally isn’t only a culinary concern, but an ethical one.

“It’s important because it’s being a responsible consumer,” says Christa Leonard, operations manager at Geraldson. “When you’re shopping local, you’re being responsible in the sense that you’re supporting your local community and your carbon footprint is not as big.”However, in addition to ethical considerations, Leonard admits that sourcing ingredients locally and therefore in-season just makes sense from a culinary perspective as well. Cutting out the long stretches packed in crates hurtling down the highway, which are necessary to access out-of-season produce from across the country or world, results in a fresher, tastier starting point.

“From the time that you pull a vegetable out of the ground it starts to lose nutrients and flavor,” says Leonard. “[Sourcing locally] is helping yourself because you’re eating better and getting more nutrients.”

Sitting on Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton, Soma Creekside Restaurant regularly sources its produce from Geraldson and other local farms. For owner and executive chef Dave Shiplett, it’s a culinary no-brainer. “I love making food that I think fits here,” says Shiplett. “I know the person who made the eggplant, so it’s more special. And they’re taking care to make sure of the little things, like that there aren’t a lot of seeds, because they’re not just pumping them out to Walmart. It’s a different mentality.”

Born and raised in Bradenton before heading off to California, Shiplett learned his craft in the restaurants of San Francisco at the height of California Cuisine, attending culinary school in the heart of the city. Emphasizing local sourcing and creative combination and presentation, California Cuisine prepared Shiplett perfectly for the growing trend when he returned to Bradenton in 1985.

“It was just totally, absolutely basic,” says Shiplett of the local options upon his return, but he has since seen an explosion in productivity and interest. “Now, I can get anything I want.”So today, in the back of his 50-seat restaurant in downtown Bradenton, Shiplett lets his creativity run wild, relying less on pre-set recipes and permanent menus and more on his own ingenuity and whatever produce looks good that day at the market. When I visit, he’s fixing up a new salad with an eggplant base.

Shiplett begins by slicing the eggplant into thin strips and roasting them with a dash of oil and salt. The strips are laid out like planks, slightly browned. “It’s supposed to look like distressed wood,” says Shiplett, who had the inspiration looking at the floor of a friend’s restaurant. “It’s funny where you get ideas.” Typically, preparing eggplant presents a challenge in the strong bitterness held by the seeds and leeched into the meat of the vegetable, but according to Shiplett, sourcing locally virtually eliminates that problem. The seeds are smaller and fewer in local strains, allowing other natural flavors to rise to the top and creating a more versatile veggie. The salad proper consists of locally sourced baby mizuna, which Shiplett selects for its taste, rich with a hint of bitter, and aesthetic, bright green with jagged edges, scattered grapefruit wedges, hearts of palm and hummus-stuffed squash blossoms. The construction seems as much an aesthetic one as a culinary one, which is fitting for someone steeped in California Cuisine.

“People eat with their eyes,” says Shiplett. “If it’s beautiful, then it’s compelling.”Topping it off with a green apple-based balsamic vinegar and a dash of extra virgin olive oil, the salad is complete and ready to eat. It’s a dish full of apparent contradictions, but Shiplett’s instinct is unerring. The dish is simultaneously light and refreshing, thanks to the tart grapefruit and crisp mizuna, but the eggplant lends a filling and substantial base. The crunch of the mizuna offsets the silky almost falling apart eggplant, while the juicy grapefruit wedges pop somewhere in the middle.

The squash blossoms deserve special mention. Traditionally discarded, these flowering buds at the end of the vegetable proper have become a hit in the past few years. Retaining the essential squash taste but in a more versatile form, the blossoms lend themselves to highlights and garnishes. In this case, Shiplett stuffs them with house-made hummus, gently seasoned with rosemary and garlic. Laid across the dish, they serve as tasty palate cleansers as you maneuver through the complex tastes of the dish.

My next stop takes me to the opposite end of Sarasota, where the vegetarian and seafood eatery Veg sits nestled in the Gulf Gate strip malls. Unassuming on the outside, the inside is all charm. Dim and quiet with an iron and pale wood aesthetic, it retains a pleasant day-at-the-park feel, while shutting out the noise and intrusions of the outside world.

A known presence among Sarasota’s vegetarian sect, Veg made a name for itself since Maggie and Marty Glucklich first opened its doors five years ago. Dedicated to local sourcing and the freshest organic ingredients, Marty established a working relationship with Aloe Farms in Arcadia but only after giving it his own personal inspection.

Formerly of Jameson’s Café, current owners Joseph and Mindy Hassett picked up the restaurant when the Glucklich’s retired seven months ago. Joseph serves as head chef while Mindy does a bit of everything else. The Hassets have maintained the store’s philosophy and relation with Aloe, while also working with services such as Albertsons Organics. A long-time chef and former vegan, Joseph believes in the importance of local sourcing, which is one of the reasons the Hassets felt so at home at Veg.

“It’s just going to taste better because you’re getting it in-season, when it’s really ripe,” says Joseph almost matter-of-factly. “The farmers bring it to market when the fruit or vegetable is ready. The flavor and the nutrients are so much better because it’s probably less than a week old.”

To illustrate his point, he presents his dish – grilled Cobia on a bed of collard kale with steamed vegetables. From the presentation alone, the difference is plain. The carrots are as bright an orange as the green beans are green, and both put the supermarket to shame. The broccolini looks crisp, without a hint of wilt.

All of the vegetables are steamed and served naked. Steaming is preferred because it retains the vegetables’ firmness and doesn’t leech nutrients. Once steamed, Joseph forgoes adornment, preferring to let the ingredients speak for themselves.“I don’t like to season steamed vegetables because I want people to be able to taste the vegetable,” says Joseph. “I don’t want them to taste salt when eating vegetables.”

Which is fine, because they don’t need it. Freshly grown and prepared, each bite bursts with natural flavor. The carrots are sweet and savory, a taste too often masked by mounds of butter. The green beans are nigh perfect, firm in texture and juicy on the inside, as is the broccolini. It’s a crisp and refreshing presentation, beautiful in its simplicity. The same devotion to the ingredients is evidenced in Joseph’s preparation of Cobia, which is also locally sourced from the Gulf. Similar in texture to Mahi Mahi and also called lemon fish, Joseph uses a simple dry rub for seasoning, not wanting to overpower the natural flavors of the fish before giving the meat a quick grilling and a dash of lemon or lime. The result is a light flaky filet with a clean taste, unburdened by extraneous additions. Setting the dish off and giving it a little kick is Joseph’s collard kale. Using locally grown kale, Joseph cooks it down in vegetable stock before adding a little sugar and vinegar, letting the sweet and the bite mingle with the kale’s bitter hints. It’s a delicate interplay and pulled off masterfully. A dash of red pepper flakes completes the recipe, adding a little heat to the whole affair.

Photography by Senior Photographer Evan Sigmund and Shane Donglasan

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER EVAN SIGMUND AND SHANE DONGLASAN