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Dominic Carpin at The Montpelier Center Farmers Market (Photo by Jay Paul)
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Produce from delli Carpini Farm (Photo by Dominic Carpin)
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Dish made from Carpin’s produce at The Broken Tulip (Photo by David Crabtree-Logan)
Americans don’t consume five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily. And 50 percent of what we do eat comes from tomatoes and potatoes, a statistic held across all income levels. French fries and ketchup are partially a matter of taste, and startlingly, a matter of accessibility. As much as we think we support small producers, their number has declined, down 8,000 farms nationally from 2015 to 2016.
The growers that persevere, the ones you see at the farmers’ market, mostly raise predictably profitable crops — lettuces, berries and yes, tomatoes, though hopefully those end up in salads rather than ketchup. One man bucking the odds is Dominic Carpin, owner and sole employee of delli Carpini Farm. He grows more than 50 types of pulses, grasses, greens, root vegetables and gourds on 12 acres in Beaverdam. But you’re more likely to run into his produce on your plate at a restaurant than under a market tent.
“I’m a high-risk, gambler farmer,” Carpin explains. “I work with chefs to grow whatever catches their eye because I find it interesting, not because it will make the most money.”
Carpin has supplied Shagbark with ground cherries and is cultivating cardoons, or artichoke thistles, for Executive Chef Aaron Cross. Ashland’s The Caboose frequently purchases Carpin’s kale, burdock and Asian greens.
“Dominic is one of our favorite farmers,” says Caboose chef Jeremy Luther. He loves Carpin’s Mizuna red streaks, a scarlet-fringed mustard green. “We did an amazing white pizza with them and white-fleshed sweet potatoes.”
Carpin’s most endearing relationship may be with chef-owner David Crabtree-Logan of The Broken Tulip, who fills his dining room with regional proteins and produce. “I try to be everyone’s best customer,” says Crabtree-Logan. “I try to buy something from Dominic every week.”
Together they’ve launched a dinner series. The third dinner, held at delli Carpini Farm earlier this month, celebrated the autumnal equinox and another bumper crop of brassica.
