The Chef’s Capsule Collection is an ongoing series of partnerships with local chefs, aimed at experimentation and discovery through farming and food.
A capsule collection is a limited edition. Each season, in collaboration with a local chef, we commit to growing a limited run of a crop that has a unique cultural or climate story. We give the chef what we harvest and share our findings about the growing process. In return, they highlight the crop at their restaurant and make a donation to our non-profit partner.
These partnerships with culinary experts in our community use a narrow lens to tell a larger story about seeds and farming, culture and cooking, craft and community. Our hope is that these crop vignettes provide inspiration and serve as a catalyst engage in a new way with locally grown food.
HONEYPATCH SQUASH
This miniature relative to butternut squash was bred in collaboration with chefs to maximize flavor, sweetness, and nutrient density.
Grown in collaboration with Cheetie Kumar of Ajja in Raleigh.
ULTRACROSS OKRA
This cultivar, from the Utopian Seed Project, is a cross of more than 80 different varieties of okra, selected for specific traits of climate resiliency in North Carolina.
Grown in collaboration with Adé Carrena of Dounou Cuisine in Raleigh.
LIME BASIL
A less commonly grown variety of the popular herb, lime basil is a powerful connection to one chef’s past.
Grown in collaboration with Lon Bounsanga of SAAP in Cary.
AGRETTI
A distant relative of beets and spinach, this Italian shrub has a crunchy, vegetal, and slightly briny flavor.
Grown in collaboration with Matt Kelly of Nanas Restaurant in Durham.