Milwaukee Chef Joins Nationwide Call For Climate Solutions

Avery Island, LA – November 7, 2022: The Chefs Boot Camp for Policy and Change hosted by the James Beard Foundation at Tabasco Headquarters on Avery Island. Photo by Clay Williams. © Clay Williams / http://claywilliamsphoto.com

Miso-infused lamb with fava beans, bulgur tabbouleh and kanzuri vinaigrette made its way onto the menu at EsterEv last May, effectively distilling the essence of spring onto a single hand-thrown ceramic plate.

The dish, a symphony of funky, spicy, mild and complex umami flavors, united over a standout foundation of tender lamb sourced from Steve Pinnow‘s Pinn-Oak Farms in Delevan.

Chef Dan Jacobs swears by the lamb, calling it the best in the country, but said the product is no longer a guarantee, due to the intensifying effects of climate change.

“This year we had to shift off of lamb and into a non-local duck from the East Coast because [Pinnow] can’t raise his lambs to where they should be — the field where they graze is underwater,” said Jacobs, who co-owns EsterEv with business partner Dan Van Rite. “You can’t do anything about it, and it’s just stunted his ability to get his product to market.”

Jacobs, a chef of nearly 30 years, has always paired his professional work with a streak of activism, focusing on causes ranging from pandemic aid to childhood hunger. Upon being diagnosed with Kennedy’s disease in 2016, Jacobs began channeling his energy into raising awareness for the rare, neuromuscular condition.

Since then, his dedication to social causes has continued to gain momentum alongside his career. After amassing a sizeable online platform following his finalist run on season 21 of “Top Chef,” Jacobs felt a responsibility to engage further in his advocacy.

The opportunity arose through a collaboration with the James Beard Foundation (JBF), which galvanized more than 500 chefs, restaurateurs and other culinary notables — including Jacobs — to sign a letter to congress demanding policy makers take action on climate change, specifically as it relates to the food industry.

The group, driven by their own struggles and the James Beard Foundation’s Climate Solutions for Restaurant Survival, are asking for a Farm Bill that prioritizes climate-smart agriculture and sustainable food systems.

The legislation package, governing an array of agricultural and food programs, is reauthorized by congress every five years. The latest Farm Bill was passed in 2018 and was scheduled to be reauthorized in 2023; however, Congress missed its deadline.

The 2018 Farm Bill was extended to September 30, 2024, and at the end of May 2024, the House Committee on Agriculture passed an updated farm bill in a bipartisan vote. At this time, it’s unclear when the bill will come to a full vote.

Jacobs said he’s not satisfied with the latest version, which increases funding across USDA conservation programs, but fails to mandate that those funds be applied to environmentally-conscious conservation practices.

“This is where, you know, the debate lies and what the James Beard Foundation campaign is focused on,” Jacobs said. “We want to make sure that the $20 billion that is protected from conservation programs goes to climate-smart agricultural programs.”

The letter includes two specific demands, instructing congress to “support conservation programs aimed at helping farmers implement practices that mitigate the impact of climate change by keeping existing protections written in the Inflation Reduction Act” and “promote local and sustainable farming practices to diversify our supply chain and enhance resilience.”

The full document is available to view online.

Like many chefs of his caliber, Jacobs has a long history with the James Beard Foundation, having been nominated five times for its prestigious annual awards ceremony. In 2022, he took an advocacy workshop through the foundation, which was led by Anne McBride, JBF’s vice president of programs.

“It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done,” Jacobs said, noting that the experience pushed him to become proactive about contacting his representatives. “It was something that I never thought I would really get into, but I really enjoyed.”

For the past several years, Jacobs has become involved with No Kid Hungry and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), both of which are attached to the Farm Bill.

He’s also watched — with increasing dismay — as climate change continues to sink its teeth into the already-struggling restaurant scene. Informed by his previous experience, the chef felt equipped to continue the call for change in the latest Farm Bill.

“I think all of us notice,” Jacobs said of industry workers and other players in the food system. “The growing seasons are completely different than they were 20 years ago.”

He added that peas, rhubarb and other early-spring crops used to be staples in April, but “that’s not the case anymore.”

In fact, the availability of everything from corn and tomatoes to meat and fish — practically every fresh, seasonal ingredient — is different. And some windows of availability have become vanishingly short, he said.

The breakdown goes even beyond the dinner plate, with far-reaching economic consequences and workers’ livelihoods at stake.

“It doesn’t just shift how I cook my menus,” Jacobs said. “Restaurants are the center of the economic ecosystem and one of the parts of that ecosystem is the farmers. If we’re not able to buy stuff from them, that hurts our communities. It’s tough, and it’s a real delicate balance. We do the best we can to buy as much as we can from our local farmers. But if they’re flooded out and don’t have green beans, but we have green beans on the menu, I’ve got to find a way to do something.”

In its letter to Congress, JBF emphasized the economic influence of the food system, noting that it provides “22.1 million full and part-time jobs, amounting to 10.4% of total U.S. employment.”

Independent restaurants, meanwhile, employ “3.9 million workers, generating $75 billion in wages and contributing over $209 billion in revenue to local economies across the U.S., according to a recent report from the George Washington University’s Global Food Institute and the James Beard Foundation.

At the same time, nearly every independent restaurant is operating on a shoestring while prices continue to rise. Jacobs said the trend is “directly linked to climate change.”

“It’s like this cycle that keeps going up,” he said, noting that investing in transformative agriculture could “really help farmers out.”

“Congress needs to take that action to protect the $20 billion in the farm bill for that, specifically.”

While Jacobs and his fellow co-signers push for large-scale, federal change, the group are also taking steps as individuals to address the crisis.

“We do our part, you know, we do what we can,” he said, noting that both of his restaurants, EsterEv and DanDan, recycle and strive to minimize food waste.

“Yes, I would love to see larger operations do better, but I can’t control what they do, or what they feel is right for their bottom line,” he said. I would never tell somebody what to do with their business, but I would hope that they would look around and see that … we all live here, and it’s worth protecting.”

Among the letter’s more than 500 signatories are a handful of celebrities including José Andrés of World Central Kitchen, Rick Bayless and Padma Lakshmi, former host of “Top Chef.”

Another name might stand out to Milwaukeeans: Suzzette Metcalfe, chef-owner of The Pasta Tree. Metcalfe has operated the restaurant for more than four decades. After suffering a major hand injury, the chef is no longer able to cook as she used to; however, her staff makes many of the restaurant’s key products, including pasta and mozzarella cheese, from scratch in-house on the daily.

Metcalfe did not respond to a request for comment.

While Jacobs continues to push for change in his industry, he’s encouraging others to do the same — no matter their cause.

“The number one thing that people can do is have your congressperson on speed dial,” he said. “It’s their job to hear from us, you know, and this is where this is where our voice is supposed to be. And when our voices say the same thing over and over again, usually something does happen.”