Spike Gjerde heads to Washington this morning to do some cooking -- and lobbying.
The Woodberry Kitchen chef will take part in National Small Farm and Ranch Grassroots Lobby Day, organized by the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.
Gjerde and others will voice opposition to a provision in a food-safety bill that would make it harder to buy directly from farmers.
"Bad for your farmers' market, bad for farm-to-table restaurants, bad for consumers in general," is how Andy Tzortzinis, who does PR for Woodberry, summed up the legislation.
The group's goal, as stated on NICFA's Web site: "To promote and preserve unregulated farmer-to-consumer trade that fosters availability of locally grown or home-produced food products."
Gjerde will be meeting with a U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary and reps for Sens. Mikulski and Cardin during the day. Come evening, he'll be one of five speakers at a reception for at least 500, many of them lawmakers. Celebrity farmer Joel Salatin will serve as emcee.
If Gjerde fails to woo the crowd with his words, perhaps his food will do the trick. He's helping to cater the reception.
"We're serving Gunpowder Bison Chili with Cheddar Skillet Cornbread and Circle C Oyster Stew with House-Baked Oyster Crackers," Tzortzinis said.
Sounds like the crackers alone could get a senator or two off the fence.
"They're like little cookies," Tzortzinis said. "They're incredible."
Sun photo by John Makely