Carolyn Centeno is the founder of Food For Thought Tours, a terrific new service that bills itself as offering “adventures in local culture and organic cuisine.” This is such a great new business and I just know that Carolyn and her networks of farmers, chefs, winemakers, purveyors and artisans are going to bring a lot of happiness to her clients. For more information, see the website I’ve linked to above. They are also in my blog roll (and part of my own little twitterati list) and expect to hear a lot more about Carolyn’s progress on this blog. Here is the description of Food for Thoughts next tour:

Farmhouse Cooking Class Dinner Under The Stars - Saturday Night North Fork!

Dine under the stars on a gorgeous Rosé vineyard for a special Saturday Night event!  Enjoy hands on cooking fun at an idyllic Farmhouse kitchen for a Tuscan dinner on the North Fork – the wine country of Long Island!

• learn how to cook various Tuscan dishes!
• enjoy the tranquility of a unique and gorgeous setting on the North Fork
• dine under the stars in an outdoor Tuscan inspired table on a rosé vineyard!
• taste your own creations with your fellow chefs!
• free recipes from the evening’s meal!
• great way to meet and network with other interesting people!

$125 pp (+$46 ingredient and kitchen fee) April 25th

Here is the interview:

FarmToTable (FTT):  What’s the best part of running Farm To Table food tours? Connecting people with the places where their food comes from? Supporting local sustainable farms? Eating the most delicious food?

Carolyn Centeno: That’s an incredibly hard question because there are so many.  Especially in our NYC series, I find it incredibly rewarding to see New Yorkers have their “aha moments” when they have a special connection with where their food comes from.  Whether its visiting a local farm, learning about local purveyors in NYC or enjoying one of our cooking classes, our clients enjoy getting out of their shopping-in-supermarkets-eating-out ways for a day or an afternoon to have an experience with food that is unlike anything they have experienced before.  Understanding where our food comes from and how good it tastes when it is locally sourced and organic, is something that only comes from hands-on experience with such ideas.  To see how vegetables grow, learn about sustainable vineyards, visit the farms of NYC restaurants, or tour a green market in NYC is a special experience that creates an appreciation for everything that the earth has to offer.

I also really enjoy the sense of community that this type of thinking creates.  People from all walks of life come together to enjoy a communal table, talk about concepts they have never thought of, and meet interesting people in an afternoon.  I think the idea that ‘green’ can be fun is something that is especially rewarding.  I love meeting new people and seeing people experience a substantial afternoon or evening with new friends.

All this fun…and we can get to support our local communities and learn about all these concepts right in our backyard.

FTT: Where did the inspiration to start this business come from?

Carolyn: As every locavore’s inspiration began, Pollan and Kingsolver were two huge pivotal moments in my life when I was incredibly impressed with how harmful our agricultural system has been for years and immediately wanted to do something to change it. After being in the field of architecture for years, I decided to seek a slower pace of life in Southern France and work with organic farms, sustainable chateaus and Eco-hotels in Provence.  These experiences were so life-changing that I came back determined to have a hand in changing our agricultural system.  For a while I looked for jobs in urban agriculture/architecture jobs in hopes that I could change our view of agriculture through architecture.  Until one day it hit me that I would love to bring my farm to table experiences and insights to others.  One thing led to another, I designed my trips, website and business and I am now running a company that is focused on learning about ‘green’ food in a fun and social environment. I have always been incredibly interested in food (i like to eat : ) ) and the environment and find it incredibly rewarding to combine the two with fun people.

FTT: How many trips have you done already?

Carolyn: Well I’m an experienced world traveler and have planned and organized countless trips for friends and family. Like the movement in general, I am a relatively new company. We just started up in 2009 and we’re hoping for a great spring and summer season.

FTT: How many farms do you work with? and where are they located?

Carolyn: I work with farms all over the Berkshires, North Fork and Connecticut.  I also have great contacts with local producers and artisans in South of France, Ireland and Argentina.

FTT: What have you learned from the farmers with whom you’ve organized trips for?

Carolyn: I have always been struck by our farmers’ passion and dedication to these concepts.  For them, these ideas are not cutting-edge, but are rather the way that farming has been/should be practiced in this day and age.  I have learned a lot about alternative ways to farm without pollutants or chemicals.  All of our predecessors practiced these techniques pre-Industrial age, we just need to catch on again.

FTT: Who does the cooking? Do you have professional chefs organize menus and stock ingredients?

Carolyn: I have professionally trained chefs who have worked in top restaurants or are personal chefs to the stars who are trained in local and seasonal ingredients.  They are professionals who make the classes informative and fun!  And are giving us great prices to work with them.  They provide special afternoons and evenings.

… if you have any questions or are interested in learning about Food For Thoughts’ trips, hit me up or go straight to their website http://www.foodforthoughttours.com.