Meet Enright Cattle Co.

Don and Chris Langevin
Kara and Darold Enright
and baby Evelyn, Corben and Bear

    For years now the media, doctors and nutritionists have been encouraging us to read food labels.  How much fat, how much salt, how much fibre, all very important things to know.  In other words they are suggesting that we think about what we put into our mouths.  We take all this time to read and calculate our packaged foods, but how much thought do you put into the meat you select for your family?  Do you know where it comes from?  What it's been fed?  How it's raised?  Me neither, and now that I am in the know, that scares me a little.  I know that our foods are being protected for us by the government, but it still leaves me feeling very ignorant about the food that I am feeding to my young children.

     In times past everyone knew where their food came from.  No one ever had to pay more for "organic", I'm pretty sure that the word "organic" didn't even exist.  If you wanted to survive in this hard country you grew your own food or were wealthy enough to buy it from a neighbour.  You always knew where your food came from.  No pesticides were used, because they didn't exist.  Today the majority of us are far removed from our food sources.  We have no idea where the food that we put into our bodies for fuel and cell nourishment comes from.  We have no idea even what country it comes from.  It is crazy just how much of a disconnect we have.   Family farms are no longer sustainable, many young farmers need to work a full time job and have a full time job as a farmer, or they have to give up their family farm that has been in their families for countless generations, to support their families.  That is a sad commentary about the amount of importance we put upon the growers and producers of our food.  As you drive closer to the larger cities you will notice that in the last few years thousands of acres of beautiful fertile land has been plowed under to make way for townhouses and malls.  That sends a very disturbing message about the importance we put on where we get our food from.

    The Our Backyard From Farm to Feast has allowed me a great honour.  I have been able to speak to the farmers who produce food locally.  I have been so blown away by their love of what they do, by their passion.  It has forever changed the way I look at my food and where it comes from.  It has also changed the way I will be purchasing my food.  I truly feel very privileged to have been able to see this.

    If you travel up Hunt Road here in Tweed you will come to Enright Cattle Co.  It is well kept, but unassuming.  I knocked on the door of the house and was greeted by this little blond lady.  She was quiet, but oh my the passion and love for what she does just poured out of her.  She has changed the way that I will forever look at my meat sources again!

    Enright Cattle Co is a family run business.  I use the word "business" instead of "farm", because it is indeed a business.  They operate on the supply and demand system.  Enright Cattle has no employees, only family members, even five year old Corben helps (and Baby Evelyn goes along for the ride).  I was blown away by the process in which they raise their cattle.  Kara and Darold Enright are third generation farmers.  That means that through each generation they have learned a lot about being stewards of the land.

    The cattle begin their life at Enright Cattle Co.   Here they are bred and raised by Kara and Darold until they are the correct weaning weight.  Each cow/ calf has an ear tag that will track them for their entire journey.  It tells Who they are, what weight they have been at each age, if they've been sick and needed antibiotics, the amount of information is just amazing.

    The cattle are fed food that has been raised on Darold and Kara's 175 acres of workable farmland or from Kara's parent's Don and Chris Langevin's 500 acre farm.  They work with a nutritionist to ensure that the cattle are receiving their optimal nutrition.  From this nutritionist the cattle receive a mineral / vitamin pack that has been specifically tailored to their nutritional needs.  The animals are never given growth hormones and only receive antibiotics when prescribed for sickness by a veterinarian.  It seems to me that these cattle are better cared for than many people are.

    Kara took me out to see the cattle that were grazing in the pasture.  I made the classic rookie mistake of wearing flip flops out into a cow pasture.  My feet smelled very earthy (that's code for I stood in cow poop) when I had finished.  When the cattle heard Kara, they all came running.  This to me is proof of how well treated these animals are, I was very impressed.  They all stood very tranquil, munching away on the green grass, completely unconcerned that we were there.

    The next step on the Enright Cattle Co journey is to Langevin Farms just a short drive away.  After the male's and non-replacement female cattle are at weaning weight they take a journey over to Langevin Farms to finish being raised.  Langevin Farm is owned by Kara's parents Don and Chris.

    The almost last stop on the Enright Cattle Co. journey is to Palmateer's Abattoir.  Bob Palmateer dry ages the beef.  It stays in a cooler where it dry ages for 21 days.  Dry aging changes the flavour and texture of the meat.  It also increases the tenderness.  This is just one more attention to detail.

    Enright Cattle Co. take amazing care of their animals and this extra care could explain why their beef is so widely sought after from Ottawa to Toronto.  25 - 30 restaurants currently buy their meat from Enright's.  Chances are that delicious steak that you have been raving about that you had for your dinner at that fine restaurant, it was probably raised here in Tweed.

    Enright Cattle Co.'s meat is not just available in restaurants, you can order it, and they will deliver it to you.  Where does that still happen?  Where can you find that kind of attention to detail in this day and age?  Still need more convincing?  Come to Tweed this Sunday, September 28 and try some.  The Our Backyard From Farm To Feast will be taking place.

http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/our-backyard-feast-from-farm-tickets-12435967313

    Chef Stev George from Olivea in Kingston (he uses Enright Cattle Co.'s beef) will be preparing Enright Cattle Co.'s beef for tastings.  I am personally very excited to get to try it. 

    I left the farm feeling great.  I had met people who loved what they did, they were passionate.  This is meat I would feel passionate about cooking and feeding to my children.  It seems like we are living in a world where attention to quality is trumped by attention to the bottom line.  It was so refreshing to meet people who did not feel that way.  I will be becoming an Enright Cattle Co. customer.  I like the idea of feeding my family food that I know how it has been raised.

Langevin Farms

   If you would like to learn more about Enright Cattle Co.  or would like to

 purchase some for your restaurant or family, please click the link below.

http://www.enrightcattlecompany.com/

Meet the Slacks - Our Backyard From Farm to Feast

    Traveling the dusty, gravel road for miles.  Rows of corn stretch along the fields at the sides of the road.  Huge round bails of hay looking almost architectural in their fields.  Blue skies overhead, dabbed with cotton candy clouds.  Water babbling, racing me along the road.  I am in rural Ontario.   Finally I see the mailbox marked "Slack" and I know that I am where I am supposed to be.  I am at Slack Family Farms.

     Slack Family Farms are generously donating pork for the Our Backyard From Feast to Farm taking place in Tweed, September 28.  Their pork will be masterfully prepared by a local chef, and we will get to try this masterpiece.  As the weeks quickly tick past, I am becoming more and more excited about this amazing event.

  Mark and Sarah Slack and their three children are third generation farmers (the kids are actually fourth generation farmers.  All three kids took part in 4H).  One could really say that farming is in their blood, they are truly stewards of the land.   Primarily they are pig farmers, but they also grow cash crops of corn, soya beans and wheat, as well as pasture cattle, and Sarah's green house which she grows spring plants to sell at their farm in Erinsville ... honestly I am not sure when they have time to sleep.  I say this because with two of the oldest children away at university the majority of the work falls to Mark and Sarah.  They do not have any employees, they work the farms themselves.

 

   They have two farms, one in Tweed and one in Mark's hometown of Erinsville, which is his family's farm.  Between the two farms they farm 450 acres of land (feel exhausted just writing about it, never mind doing all the work).  Mark's family raised cattle back in Erinsville.  It was however hog farming which brought them together.  Both attended Guelph University, but they did not meet there.  They met and fell in love at their first jobs after university, working at a hog farm in Rockwood, Ontario.  Since 1989, the pair has been raising pigs (oh and children too).

  

    After speaking to Sarah I will never look at bacon (not really 'just' bacon but all pork) the same, I have gained a much better appreciation for the work that goes into that delicious breakfast meat.  There is a lot of work goes into raising pigs.  There are also a lot of regulations put in place by our government to protect us.  Primarily the Slack's raise pigs intended for the purpose of breeding.  The piglets arrive at the nursery at around three weeks old (they are called weaners.  That kind of made me giggle... it's the little things.)  There are two nursery rooms.  As the pigs grow, they are moved to a different room.  There are four "finishing rooms" in the barn.  They operate on a five week rotation.  When the pigs are about 6 months old Mark goes through the pigs and decides which are good breeding stock (a pig's breeding life is from about 1 - 4 years).  Anything that is not appropriate breeding stock goes to The Ontario Pork System or to Quinn's Meats in Yarker.  They always buy their live stock from the same breeders and always sell to the same breeders/ meat suppliers.

  
   The Slack Family Farms are beautiful.  Set away from the rest of the world.  They are living what they love.  I was so envious of Sarah's big beautiful greenhouse where she grows plants for spring planting.  As she showed me around the farm the two dogs loped along beside us, it was really nice, really comfortable.  The land around the farm is this glorious green, and surprisingly smelled fresh.  It is just a bit of paradise out there away from the rest of the world.
    Thank you Sarah for taking your morning to speak to me and show me around your little bit of heaven.  It was such a pleasure.  Thank you Slack Family Farms for donating your pork so that we may all sample your hard work.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sarahs-Country-Greenhouse/303581189713712

Meet Chef Stev George - Our Backyard From Farm To Feast

    If you travel to the far of end of Brock Street in Kingston, Ontario you may forget that you are living in the 21 Century.  It is like escaping through a time warp and going back to the time of Sir John A.  The road is paved in brick instead of black asphalt.  There is a faint breeze coming off of Lake Ontario, it is beautiful.  It's hard to believe that just one street over is Princess Street a booming road lined with stores that you will see anywhere you go in Canada or North America (in fairness there are also a lot of really unique beautiful stores that also share Princess).  If you stand there long enough you can trick yourself into believing that you are actually on vacation in Europe.

    At 39 Brock Street you will see bright red awnings and beautiful flower boxes this is the home of the Italian trattoria, "Olivea" owned by Chef Stev George and his wife Deanna Harrington for the last 6 years.  Both are trained chefs.  It is no accident that Olivea finds it's home directly across the street from Kingston's Farmers market which has been in operation since 1801 (before Canada was even a country).  The Farmer's Market is source of inspiration for the menu at Olivea.  They are passionate about using local ingredients and keeping them simple.

http://olivea.ca/

    Because of his passion for local ingredients and his love of good food, Chef Stev George was the perfect choice of chef for Our Backyard From Farm to Feast.  This wonderful foodie's dream event is exactly about eating fresh, local food.  Food that grows in abundance in Tweed.  Steve is also a perfect choice because he already uses beef  in his restaurant that he purchases from Tweed's own Enright Cattle Company.

    As I walked through the doors of Olivea to meet with Stev, I was taken with the simple charm of the restaurant.  I say simple, and I mean comfortable, like you could sit there and eat good food with good company.  The very walls are a warm colour.  It is exactly what I picture a restaurant in Italy to look like.  The other thing that caught my eye, was the two large containers of Olive Oil on the counter.  My first thoughts were "I need those for my house!"  True to form, Stev uses olive oil from just down the street at 62 Brock Street's Olive Oil Co.

    Stev is passionate about using fresh, local food in his restaurant.  His theory about cooking is "Use the best quality ingredients, do as little as possible to them and let the food speak for itself.  Less is more."  All you have to really do to guess Stev's motto is to take a peek up at his menu.

    For Our Back Yard From Farm To Feast, the idea is to pair up a local farmer with a chef.  Stev will team up with Enright Cattle Company.  I asked him if he had any ideas of what he might make and he said that he was thinking about "Brasato".  Brasato is a blade roast that has been slow cooked traditionally with wine and root vegetables.  I for one am excited to see what he decides to create.

Don't forget to get your tickets for Our Backyard Feast From Farm.  Tickets are limited!