The Spirit of the Herbfarm
The Unlikely Story of the Making of America's First Farm-to-Table Restaurant
This book brings together more than 100 unique recipes from and inspired by America’s first true “farm-to-table” restaurant with the story of its creation.
Working together, founders Ron Zimmerman and Carrie Van Dyck turned a farm garage into a restaurant like no other. In their pre-opening manifesto, they vowed to use only local ingredients to reunite their guests with the increasingly forgotten nature that has sustained us for hundreds of years.
The initial offering was a single noon seating that began with a garden tour led by Carrie. This quickly became a nine-course chef-selected menu with a price that included wine pairings. The meals told a daily story in six or nine sequential dishes of what was in the garden, wilds, farm, and sea.
Unlike restaurants that would later cloak themselves in the verbal mantle of “farm-to-table,” The Herbfarm Restaurant first found the food and only then designed the menu. Everything in each dish was local, not just the protein or main vegetable. Even olive oil and lemons weren’t used in the first years until Oregon olive orchards blossomed. There were no “supplements” or extra charges. Since guests were charged in advance, they knew to the penny what the experience would cost.
Part memoir, part cookbook, The Spirit of the Herbfarm Restaurant is a walk down memory lane, written, photographed, and largely designed by Ron before his death in 2023. Delight in the history of the restaurant as well as the unique seasonal dishes and recipes and beautiful photography that cover all occasions.
Ron Zimmerman (1948–2023) and his wife, Carrie Van Dyck, converted a garage on his parents’ farm east of Seattle into a small restaurant in 1986. The initial twenty-four-seat affair served a prix fixe, six-course luncheon or nine-course dinner using only local ingredients. Soon, The Herbfarm received rave local and national press. Multi-page articles listed it as one of the top fifty restaurants in America. In 1997, a fire destroyed the restaurant. Ron and Carrie vowed to make its replacement even better. Through many trials and delays, they rebuilt. In 2001, they became one of forty-nine AAA five-Diamond restaurants in America. This is Ron’s memoir of those days of struggles along with 150 pages of Herbfarm-inspired recipes and culinary ideas. Learn more about the book at www.spiritoftheherbfarm.com.
Dr. Sinclair Philip is the former co-owner, operator, and wine director of Sooke Harbour House Hotel and Restaurant, which was named the Best Restaurant in the World for Authentic, Local Cuisine by Gourmet and Best Restaurant in Canada by the Globe and Mail. Philip is the recipient of the Governor General of Canada's Nation's Table Award for Mentoring and Inspiration and he is a member of the British Columbia Restaurant Hall of Fame. He is the cofounder Slow Food Canada and former vice president of the Southern Vancouver Island Mycological Society.
