Back to Recent Press

'06 Tastemaker Awards
15 spectacular talents who have changed the world of food and wine by age 35
by Jenna Pelletier

Jay Foster - Farmer's Advocate
Jay Foster, 33, the owner of San Francisco's Farmer Brown restaurant, is dedicated to saving the black-owned family farm from extinction. While family farms have been hard hit in the past 100 years, those owned by African Americans have been particularly devastated, disappearing at three times the national rate; today there are fewer than 18,000, only about one percent of the nation's farms. Through partnerships with seven local farms, Foster gets ingredients like black-eyed peas and Silver Queen corn for his neo-soul food menu. It's a boost for purveyors like Scott Family Farm, which previously sold its produce only in small quantities at farmers' markets. By 2007 Foster plans to buy all his produce from local, organic black farms; he's also working with them on crops to sell to Bay Area restaurants (farmerbrownsf.com).

Back to Recent Press