FFA dinner gets assist from The Yolk Cafe

Rock Hill chef helps Nation Ford students put on their event

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STEPHANIE MARKS MARTELL

Chef Greg Collier, right, directs Nation Ford FFA’s Bailey Mitchell as he serves an appetizer at the Farm to Fork dinner, a project of the school’s FFA to showcase local foods and farms.

FORT MILL Chef Greg Collier and his wife Subrina, owners of Rock Hill’s The Yolk Café, took the helm in the kitchen for Nation Ford’s Future Farmers of America recent Farm to Fork dinner for the second year in a row.

Organized by FFA adviser Lee Pettigrew and FFA students and parents, the event brings local farmers and the community to the table to share a meal and showcase locally-produced foods.

More than 100 guests attended this year’s sold-out event, held at Saint John’s United Methodist Church. Featured producers were Springs Farm and The Breadsmith in Fort Mill; Tega Hills Farm in Tega Cay; Thames Farm in Fort Lawn; HerMan Jerseys in Chester; Watson Farms Beef, Brown Farm and Manor Oaks Farm in Lowrys; and The Pennell Barn, Bush-N-Vine and Black’s Peaches in York.

“I think we’re creating the epitome of what an eating experience is supposed to be,” said Greg Collier, whose personal career goal is to grow The Yolk into a chef-driven, locally-sourced breakfast franchise.

“I’ve been trying to do a lot more York County stuff. I can get stuff from anywhere, but I want people to see – even the farmers –what you can do with it. It’s important for me to work with the farmers,” said Collier, who established working relationships with growers at The Pennell Barn and others to source heirloom veggies and more obscure things such as fairy tale eggplant, broccoli flowers and celtuce, also known as stem lettuce or celery lettuce.

“Business is built to be profitable, but as a chef, as a craftsman, as an artisan at any level, if you’re not trying to put out the best possible product, you’re doing it wrong,” he said.

“A lot of people preach local, local, local. The community needs to u n d e rs t a n d t h i s i s i m p o r t a n t . When you see 30 different types of tomato – stuff is just good. When people treat their animals right, that’s serious. Humane treatment is important. The way people treat products when they love those products versus when it’s just about cash makes a difference. As a chef, I feel like it just takes the clientele und e rs t a n d i n g. We t e a c h p e o p l e about stuff, and then when they go to the farmers market, they know. People are learning. I teach people and I learn from them.”

The centerpiece of the Colliers’ restaurant is the community table – a long table with 10 chairs lined up on each side. Diners grab a spot where they can. Like Farm to Fork, the focus is on bringing people together, Greg Collier says.

“The communal aspect of passed plates is the community sense of what eating used to be. We bring people together who wouldn’t normally be together anyway. People need to talk. People need to be near each other. People need to be around each other,” he said.

“Let’s start with from the things we all like. Everybody likes food. People are going to come in, and they’re going to sit together, and they’re going to like it. There was a time when knowledge was shared freely, and that builds a community. It’s bigger than race, creed or nationality.”

While Greg Collier’s passion is for food, Subrina’s is for people. Farm to Fork is an important event to take part in, she said.

“Each year I think it’s going to grow. It gives the kids a chance to see if this is something they want to do. This gives them an inside look at what they’re learning. I’m going to show you how you can apply it. If I can get to one kid, it makes a difference,” she said.

Adviser Pettigrew said her students gave up championship games and other activities to serve at the May 5 dinner.

“Our future is in agriculture. That’s what these young people are. They have the vision to pair producers and consumers. This has been a dream for a long time,” Pettigrew said.

Learn more:

Connect with The Yolk Café on Facebook or Twitter or go to theyolk cafe.com. For more information on Nation Ford FFA’s service project, visit catawbafreshmarket.com.