Local chefs celebrate the work of Cook County Sheriff’s Urban Farming Initiative

Orzo pasta with summer squash and celery gremolata.

Homemade flatbread with eggplant sauce, bell peppers and zucchini.

What might sound like offerings at a high-end restaurant were actually made at the Cook County Sheriff’s Urban Farm with ingredients grown on the grounds of the Cook County Jail at 26th Street and California Avenue.

Local chefs Will Carter and Alvin Green on Wednesday were each given an hour to create a dish using ingredients grown at the farm. The cookoff was the second Cook County Sheriff’s Office’s Garden Chef Challenge.

Jammie Williams, one of the three judges, was blown away by the results.

Less than a year ago, Williams was participating in the Cook County Sheriff’s Urban Farming Initiative. Through the program, he found a passion for gardening and beekeeping. When he was released from custody in the fall, he applied for a full-time job on the farm.

“It was life-changing,” Williams said. “I was here waiting, going back and forth to court and they said we have a garden you can go out and help. I got a chance to go out one time and I was hooked. … It just gave me peace of mind.”

What began as a small seasonal garden decades ago has transformed into a massive farm and greenhouse space within the walls of Cook County Jail. Williams, who works as a peer navigator coordinator, is one of the farm initiative's five full-time employees.

While his main focus is teaching program participants, Williams also helps with the farm's new hydroponic system and is the resident bee expert, tending to the hives on the grounds and overseeing honey production.

“The more I learn, the more I can do,” Williams told the Sun-Times. “But the garden will always be there, everything connects through the garden.”

Williams is proud of the work he and the program participants do at the farm and was thrilled to see professional chefs in awe of what they’ve created.

“I've never been able to do this — where you are able to turn your back and run straight to where the food is grown, pull it right out of the ground and put it into a dish,” said Carter, culinary director for events and catering at One Off Hospitality Group.

"To have stuff that was pulled out of the ground an hour ago — I rinsed some stuff off because there's still dirt on it — that's an amazing thing to be able to utilize.”

It was ultimately Carter’s orzo pasta dish that won over the judges, who said it “tasted like summer,” with its fresh vegetables and hints of honey.

Carter was also impressed by the knowledge of program participants.

“I hope that the participants know that all the skills that they're learning here, both on the farm and in the kitchen, are absolutely transferable,” Carter said. “I love the industry because it doesn't matter really where you came from. … It just matters how hard you're willing to work.”

Dozens of current program participants looked on as Carter and Green, of Al’s Cookie Mixx, went to work in the outdoor kitchen Wednesday.

“It was extravagant. I was so excited,” participant Kevin Stewart said. “I got to taste Will’s (Carter’s) dish and I loved it. And to see everything grow from where it started, it's amazing. Especially the Dino kale, I love the Dino kale, I just love the way it looks."

Stewart had some prior experience gardening with his sisters but developed a passion while working on the farm.

“Coming out here is therapeutic,” Stewart said. “It’s something that I want to do when I get out so I can get my kids into it, so that way I can have them picking tomatoes and celery to cook with.

"I tell my kids all the time, ‘When I come home I hope you all are ready.”

Once he is released from custody, Stewart plans to launch his own gardening and landscaping business in the Austin neighborhood.

The competition was the second hosted by the garden but a tradition they hope to keep going to showcase the hard work and talents of program participants like Stewart.

Produce from the farm can be purchased during the summer at the city's farmers markets in Daley Plaza and outside the Museum Of Contemporary Art.