This fall, families and individuals will trek to Orchard Hill Farm located on Fruit Ridge Line in Central Elgin to collect their vegetable share, chat with the grower and enjoy the view over the ridge. It will mark the beginning of the farm’s seventh generation as Ellen Laing and her husband take on management of the Fall Garden. Ellen chatted recently about her parents’ farm and her return to Elgin County. |
Back in 1979, Ken and Martha Laing came to operate Martha’s family farm of six generations following their marriage and completion of university degrees at the University of Guelph (Ken in Horticulture, Martha in Fine Arts). They ran a pick-your-own fruit operation for seventeen years, plus organic field crops and Christmas trees along the way, and for the past nineteen years a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Much of the farm work has been done with Suffolk Punch draft horses.
Martha and her daughter Ellen started the CSA In 1997, the summer after Ellen finished high school. They continued to run it together for the next couple of years and, after Ellen left home, Martha carried it on.
Ellen says, “It started getting bigger and making more money, and then my dad got on board. When he got involved there were a lot more horse implements utilized. He built the root lifter for digging the root vegetables, the root washer for washing them, and the transplanter because he got tired of transplanting on his knees.”
Many interns have also assisted with the farm work, learning about organic farming and working with the draft horses. With extensive experience understanding and working with soils, Ken is a widely respected soil “guru”. The CSA has grown over nineteen seasons from fifteen to 260 shares in 2016 and Martha has continued to work growing and championing good food.
Martha and her daughter Ellen started the CSA In 1997, the summer after Ellen finished high school. They continued to run it together for the next couple of years and, after Ellen left home, Martha carried it on.
Ellen says, “It started getting bigger and making more money, and then my dad got on board. When he got involved there were a lot more horse implements utilized. He built the root lifter for digging the root vegetables, the root washer for washing them, and the transplanter because he got tired of transplanting on his knees.”
Many interns have also assisted with the farm work, learning about organic farming and working with the draft horses. With extensive experience understanding and working with soils, Ken is a widely respected soil “guru”. The CSA has grown over nineteen seasons from fifteen to 260 shares in 2016 and Martha has continued to work growing and championing good food.
Ellen returned to Elgin County last year, after having been away for seventeen years. She now has two young children of her own and will manage the 2016 fall Orchard Hill CSA with her husband, Aaron Berg. Although she was away from farming for several years, she continued to grow her culinary knowledge and skills.
While completing a degree in English and History at Trent University, Ellen worked summers cooking and baking at a lodge in Homer, Alaska. There, she also met her now husband “Bergie” who had a job as an accountant in the off-season in Portland Oregon. Eventually she moved to Portland with him and ended up staying for twelve years.
In Portland, Ellen worked for a coffee roasting company for seven years training people how to make coffee and about where coffee grows. Then she went to a small cooking school called Robert Reynold’s Chef Studio. She says, “Robert was this 70-year old Francophile, who just loved France. Every day we would cook from a different region in France or Italy and make a meal and drink wine from that region. From nine to five, Monday to Friday, that’s what I did. It wasn’t chef school but he took it very seriously. We studied the geography and history of the region to inform where the cuisine of the area came from.”
“Robert Reynolds was a very interesting man and he knew many people in the food industry in Portland. Through that, I made some connections and then got some restaurant jobs there. One of them was with Naomi Pomeroy at Beast [Restaurant].”
Ellen helped out at Beast wherever she was needed, but when she returned from taking time off with the birth of her first child, Della, the pastry chef had just left and she stepped into that role. In the “Desserts & Pastry” section of Naomi’s recently released cookbook, Taste & Technique, Naomi gives nod to “my incredible pastry chef, Ellen Laing. Ellen has an unbelievable work ethic and palate, is detail-oriented, and her vision matches mine. She’s one of my favorite people among all those with whom I’ve worked, and she has taught me a great deal over the years – in fact, Ellen and I worked side by side on all of the recipes in this chapter.”
Eventually, the often discussed idea of moving back to Ontario, nearer Ellen’s family, became reality, prompted partly by her pregnancy with her second child. The fact that Ken and Martha also wanted to shift into a somewhat less hectic pace opened up the possibility of Ellen and Aaron taking on some sort of role on the farm.
While completing a degree in English and History at Trent University, Ellen worked summers cooking and baking at a lodge in Homer, Alaska. There, she also met her now husband “Bergie” who had a job as an accountant in the off-season in Portland Oregon. Eventually she moved to Portland with him and ended up staying for twelve years.
In Portland, Ellen worked for a coffee roasting company for seven years training people how to make coffee and about where coffee grows. Then she went to a small cooking school called Robert Reynold’s Chef Studio. She says, “Robert was this 70-year old Francophile, who just loved France. Every day we would cook from a different region in France or Italy and make a meal and drink wine from that region. From nine to five, Monday to Friday, that’s what I did. It wasn’t chef school but he took it very seriously. We studied the geography and history of the region to inform where the cuisine of the area came from.”
“Robert Reynolds was a very interesting man and he knew many people in the food industry in Portland. Through that, I made some connections and then got some restaurant jobs there. One of them was with Naomi Pomeroy at Beast [Restaurant].”
Ellen helped out at Beast wherever she was needed, but when she returned from taking time off with the birth of her first child, Della, the pastry chef had just left and she stepped into that role. In the “Desserts & Pastry” section of Naomi’s recently released cookbook, Taste & Technique, Naomi gives nod to “my incredible pastry chef, Ellen Laing. Ellen has an unbelievable work ethic and palate, is detail-oriented, and her vision matches mine. She’s one of my favorite people among all those with whom I’ve worked, and she has taught me a great deal over the years – in fact, Ellen and I worked side by side on all of the recipes in this chapter.”
Eventually, the often discussed idea of moving back to Ontario, nearer Ellen’s family, became reality, prompted partly by her pregnancy with her second child. The fact that Ken and Martha also wanted to shift into a somewhat less hectic pace opened up the possibility of Ellen and Aaron taking on some sort of role on the farm.
The move to Ontario last year happened as Naomi was nearing completion of her cookbook. Ellen says, “We wanted things to be as beautiful and fresh as they could be for the photos so we scheduled the shoots with the photographer for one week in June and one in August.” Ellen had prepared every recipe for the first shoot and was excited to be part of the second. So, seven months pregnant, she returned to Portland and stood through sixteen hour days to style and direct each photo alongside Naomi. They are striking and a significant part of the book’s appeal.
Just as Ken and Martha’s farm has evolved over the years, Ellen and Bergie’s place there is a work in progress. When they moved back from Portland, Ellen notes, “We didn’t have firm plans. Farming is hard work but it’s also sort of soul-satisfying and it’s not in some ways as gruelling as a restaurant schedule with small children because you are really more in control of the pace of things. The infrastructure is all here and I have my parents as ‘oracles’ and teamsters.”
There have been surprises. “Bergie was doing financial consulting in clean energy – now he’s going to drive a four-horse hitch – which is sort of funny,” Ellen smiles. They had planned to find a place to live near St. Thomas or possibly London, but in the interim moved into Ken and Martha’s house on the farm. Since, the possibility has arisen that they will continue living there – the two generations have figured out a way to create a living arrangement which will provide both with the desired degree of freedom and separation within the property. Ellen laughs, “I really didn’t think I was going to live in my parents’ house.”
Just as Ken and Martha’s farm has evolved over the years, Ellen and Bergie’s place there is a work in progress. When they moved back from Portland, Ellen notes, “We didn’t have firm plans. Farming is hard work but it’s also sort of soul-satisfying and it’s not in some ways as gruelling as a restaurant schedule with small children because you are really more in control of the pace of things. The infrastructure is all here and I have my parents as ‘oracles’ and teamsters.”
There have been surprises. “Bergie was doing financial consulting in clean energy – now he’s going to drive a four-horse hitch – which is sort of funny,” Ellen smiles. They had planned to find a place to live near St. Thomas or possibly London, but in the interim moved into Ken and Martha’s house on the farm. Since, the possibility has arisen that they will continue living there – the two generations have figured out a way to create a living arrangement which will provide both with the desired degree of freedom and separation within the property. Ellen laughs, “I really didn’t think I was going to live in my parents’ house.”
Over the past year, Ellen has contemplated ways that she can satisfy her culinary creativity. She says “I love feasts and celebrations and people coming together and celebrating by eating really good food. I love the idea of doing farm dinners. I am hoping that can happen next summer … a couple of special events with 25 to 50 people and featuring food from the farm. It’s like the ultimate inspiration as a chef – the seasonal bounty, when you have so much of something that you are wondering, ‘What am I going to do with this fifty pounds of peppers?’”
Having spent so many years in a foodie hotspot like Portland, what does she think about the future of food in Elgin County? She says, “I think the future is looking bright. I think things are growing and it’s becoming more exciting than when I was growing up, that’s for sure. I think there is a lot more interest in good food. There are a lot more young people interested in paying money for and supporting good food in the place that they live and I think that’s the jumping off place – that’s where it all starts. Once you really get a taste of good food – I just mean things that are fresh, that are simple but well prepared – it’s hard to go back.”
“Mostly I want to make a living and be a part of a community that’s excited about the same things that I am … and I am excited about really good food and sort of putting yourself into something whether that’s making a vase or making a loaf of bread or a pot of soup. I like things that feel like they have a little bit of soul to them.”
Ken and Martha’s Orchard Hill has helped to nurture a community that’s excited about good food – we look forward to seeing what grows in that fertile ground with the addition of Ellen’s energy, culinary passion and knowledge.
In a CSA, farmers grow food for a group of consumers who pay an annual fee to purchase their share of the harvest. Orchard Hill Farm is located at 45415 Fruit Ridge Line, Central Elgin. Find out more at www.orchardhillfarm.ca. You will also find links there to videos produced by Ken and Martha’s son Grayden, a St. Thomas based artist and cinematographer, showing some of Ken’s customized farm machinery.
Having spent so many years in a foodie hotspot like Portland, what does she think about the future of food in Elgin County? She says, “I think the future is looking bright. I think things are growing and it’s becoming more exciting than when I was growing up, that’s for sure. I think there is a lot more interest in good food. There are a lot more young people interested in paying money for and supporting good food in the place that they live and I think that’s the jumping off place – that’s where it all starts. Once you really get a taste of good food – I just mean things that are fresh, that are simple but well prepared – it’s hard to go back.”
“Mostly I want to make a living and be a part of a community that’s excited about the same things that I am … and I am excited about really good food and sort of putting yourself into something whether that’s making a vase or making a loaf of bread or a pot of soup. I like things that feel like they have a little bit of soul to them.”
Ken and Martha’s Orchard Hill has helped to nurture a community that’s excited about good food – we look forward to seeing what grows in that fertile ground with the addition of Ellen’s energy, culinary passion and knowledge.
In a CSA, farmers grow food for a group of consumers who pay an annual fee to purchase their share of the harvest. Orchard Hill Farm is located at 45415 Fruit Ridge Line, Central Elgin. Find out more at www.orchardhillfarm.ca. You will also find links there to videos produced by Ken and Martha’s son Grayden, a St. Thomas based artist and cinematographer, showing some of Ken’s customized farm machinery.
ELLEN ON NAOMI POMEROY
Naomi is a very confident person – she’s a big personality and to see her break things down so specifically and really think about somebody who doesn’t know anything at all was a little bit surprising. And the amount of care she put into it – she really wants people to be able to get it right. A lot of chefs don’t care if you can do it right because they can do it right. I think a lot of it comes from just her years of cooking from books for a catering business. She didn’t know how to make a lot of these things before she went to make them for the public.
Naomi is a very confident person – she’s a big personality and to see her break things down so specifically and really think about somebody who doesn’t know anything at all was a little bit surprising. And the amount of care she put into it – she really wants people to be able to get it right. A lot of chefs don’t care if you can do it right because they can do it right. I think a lot of it comes from just her years of cooking from books for a catering business. She didn’t know how to make a lot of these things before she went to make them for the public.
NAOMI POMEROY ON ELLEN
From the Acknowledgements in Taste & Technique
“Some of the hardest working days and most fun I have ever had were with you. You are this book and this book is you.”
Read about Naomi Pomeroy’s Taste & Technique – Recipes to Elevate Your Home Cooking.
From the Acknowledgements in Taste & Technique
“Some of the hardest working days and most fun I have ever had were with you. You are this book and this book is you.”
Read about Naomi Pomeroy’s Taste & Technique – Recipes to Elevate Your Home Cooking.