TOP 5 NON-MEAT COMMODITIES IN GEORGIA
- Peanuts
- Corn
- Pecans
- Blueberries
- Onions
For more than 30 years, Holly Chute served as chef in the Georgia Governor’s Mansion. She first arrived in 1981 to cook for Gov. George Busbee, and she stayed through the administrations of Joe Frank Harris, Zell Miller, Roy Barnes, Sonny Perdue and Nathan Deal. Good cooking knows no political party.
After Chute announced that she was leaving the mansion for an exciting new opportunity, I had requested an interview in the state executive’s kitchen on West Paces Ferry Road and was hoping that Chute could tell me about the changing tastes of three decades of gastro-political history. Alas, the governor’s office repeatedly denied my request.
Thankfully, her new boss had no problems. Chute recently signed on as executive chef of the Georgia Department of Agriculture's Georgia Grown program. This marketing and economic initiative — which has a now-familiar logo — serves as a collective community for agricultural producers, suppliers, distributors, retailers and the burgeoning agritourism community. It's a multifaceted program that works with Georgia school lunch programs as well as foreign trade missions.
I recently had a conversation with Chute and her boss, Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, about her new role and what it will mean for Georgia:
Q: Why does Georgia Grown need an executive chef?
Black: Our vision from day one was to have a spokesperson for the program. Someone with connections in the food industry and a liaison role with chefs all throughout Georgia. Chef Holly was one of our first Georgia Grown chefs to come on board two years ago when we started working with local chefs in branding Georgia-produced products and foods.
Q: How big is the market for Georgia fruits and vegetables, and how many licensees are part of the Georgia Grown Program?
Black: There's over $1 billion annually in farmer value for fruit and vegetable production, and we've got over 450 licensees.
Q: Holly, what kind of work did you do when you started working with Georgia Grown?
Chute: I was working a lot with schoolchildren and exposing them to all the different products within Georgia. I reached out to school systems and talked to some nutritionists about what local products they were getting in. For instance, I went to an elementary school in southwest Georgia and got them to buy local rather than Florida strawberries.
Q: Did you work on school menus?
Chute: Yes, I came up with recipes that used Georgia produce and the ingredients they would have on hand. I developed a local zucchini recipe that used canned tomatoes and spices. Also one for oven-roasted butternut squash. But you always get pushback if you come up with some crazy recipes.
Q: Did you work directly with the kids?
Chute: Absolutely, and I loved it. I went down to Macon and engaged some of the kids in trying different foods.
Q: So what are you up to now as executive chef?
Chute: On my agenda right away is planning for a big presence at the state fair (the Georgia National Fair in Perry in October). I'm going to be doing a lot of demos. Also, we'll be at the Atlanta Motor Speedway over Labor Day weekend and have some chefs there talking about Georgia products. We'll be serving Georgia Grown themed menus up in the suites and boxes.
Q: So you will still work with a coalition of Georgia chefs?
Chute: Absolutely. I'm passionate about getting more chefs involved in the process. I'm taking them on farm tours such as one coming up to Springer Mountain Farms (a producer of natural chickens). I once heard Linton Hopkins say "it's a chef's responsibility to be ambassadors for their products." I've really taken that to heart.
Q: Where do you see it going?
Chute: I see myself promoting Georgia products throughout the state, the country and eventually the world.
