My name is Johanna and I am the forager at Print. Let’s be clear up front about what I do. I’m the first to admit that forager is not the best job title. If you look up the word in the dictionary it describes a person or animal that looks for something especially food. But our society thinks more in terms of someone who is specifically out in the forest searching for wild edibles. My skill set is a little weak in that department. My job fits more of the former, dictionary description. The short version is I work closely with Charles and Heather, the chefs, to source what they need as directly from producers, ideally in the region, as possible.
You may be asking, “How the heck does one get this job and what kind of skill set must she have?” Well, my passion revolves around working to change the food system at different levels. This job is just another way of me accomplishing this goal. I’ve worked in the field at large for 10 years and have developed many relationships with producers of all kinds. I enjoy the detective work and the problem solving of this job. Plus it doesn’t hurt that I get to try the food that the chefs cook up with these ingredients.
I didn’t really consciously decide to become a forager. I happened to have a previous job with a farmer oriented distribution company, where one of my responsibilities was to develop relationships with producers. So it was a pretty seamless transition to this job. It’s actually a funny story, to me a least. I was a big fan of Lassi, chef Heather’s now closed restaurant in the West Village (but it will rise from the ashes one day!). I approached her to be my client for the distribution company, she closed Lassi and moved to Print, which I started to service, but then I left the company and then I was offered a position at the restaurant. I never saw it coming but it was a great fit. The restaurant wanted to work directly with producers and the ideal route was to have someone devoted to developing and maintaining those relationships and dealing with the logistics. It’s a work in progress as the restaurant grows so come on by to see what the kitchen has cooked up.
I’ll be writing a blog entitled the Forager’s Corner so you can learn more about the nitty gritty of what I do for the restaurant and about all wonderful farmers, fishermen, food artisans, and even foragers who provide us with product. Not sure what form this blog will take yet so stay tuned to find out…
