So, here's a tough question...

I am in quite a bit of a quandary...my heart tells me that every product that I use as a chef should be from the area surrounding my restaurant; my mind tells me that I should be using the best possible ingredients available to me regardless of their provenance.

Which is right?

Is either point of view completely correct?

Is there a happy medium?

I really do not think there is a "one-size fits all" approach that can be taken.  Some operations just DO. NOT.  CARE.  Their chefs drive big gas guzzling cars, and eat burgers in Styrofoam containers...they are only concerned with the convenience of placing one order with one vendor; they do not care that strawberries or asparagus are NOT in season in January.  Neither origin nor quality of the products used are a concern.

On the other side of the coin, are the chefs that set out to use products that are only available within a certain radius of their kitchen, or in a specific geographical region.  One of the best examples of this is Chef Sean Brock's Husk Restaurant in Charleston, SC.  Not only does Chef Brock cook with ingredients that are native to and/or produced in the Southeastern US, he is working to preserve various foodstuffs from benne (the sesame seeds brought to the Americas from Africa on slave ships) to the original-pure bred pigs to traditional methods of preparation.  A semi-amateur food anthropologist and ambassador for real southern food.  What he is doing is truly laudable, and for those without the commitment he possesses: cripplingly daunting.  Here is Sean Brock on the Charlie Rose Show talking about what he does better than I can.

Of course, there are those chefs who did not set out to embrace local food as part of their mission statement, or any part of some agenda, but have come to rely very heavily on them as their careers have progressed.  Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz Restaurant  in Spain admits that his interest in the produce around his restaurant was fostered in the early days of Mugaritz; it was during this time period that the dining room was devoid of customers and he and his staff had little to do other than go into the fields and woods around the restaurant to forage, and learn about was growing in his own backyard.  Building his cuisine using locally produced ingredients has worked out well for Chef Aduriz, as Mugaritz has been among the top 5 restaurants in the world for the last 5 years, and named the Number 3 restaurant in the world for the last two years!

And then there is Chef Thomas Keller.  In May of this year he was interviewed by the New York Times, to support Chef Aduriz's release of the Mugaritz cookbook coincidentally.  It was during this interview that Chef Keller was portrayed as writing off the idea of locally produced food: "I think about quality, not geography."  Two weeks after the Times piece, an essay written by Chef Keller was published in his own Finesse Magazine, in which Chef Keller addressed the true intent of his statements; while he IS concerned with carbon foot prints, and sustainability, and local producers, it is not his raison d'etre.  People's expectations of any Thomas Keller restaurant are so high, that for his businesses to survive he must find and procure and serve the absolute finest products in the world. If they come from his garden across the street or not, so be it.

So...where do I come down on all of this?

Well, first of all, I think that not showing any interest in the "quality/geography" discussion at all is irresponsible and dangerous for myriad reasons.  I feel that as a chef, it is my responsibility and duty to provide my guests with highest quality products that I can source, and I hope that I can find them with 50 to 100 miles of the restaurant.  I also feel that it is my place to scour the history of my region and my terroir for edibles that define the time and place of a guests dining experience.

As chefs we need to be active in our communities.  We need to work with our local farmers, vintners, cheese makers, fishermen, etc. and explain to them our wants and needs; to help our friends and neighbors produce, procure, and supply us with the high quality products that we are seeking.