This blog is part of our series of Wolfe’s Neck Center Stories, focusing on the people and the programs that drive our work for farmer viability, thriving ecosystems, and vibrant communities.
“The best part of my job?” Chef Malcom Kelly thinks for a moment. “Working with products in the kitchen that I have helped to grow on the farm.” For Malcolm, who spent many years working in high-end (and high-stress) restaurants, the direct connection between farming and food at Wolfe’s Neck Center “has made cooking fun again.”
Malcolm is the Food & Farming Coordinator at Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment, playing a central role in empowering people to be active and engaged in the food system. He works with children and adults in the kitchen, providing hands-on education and experience that “closes the loop between farming and food production.”
What does that mean? “People don’t necessarily understand what a ‘food system’ is,” Malcolm explains. “So whether I’m working with children or adults, the message is the same: food comes from the ground and it needs to be turned into food.” On campus, that means cooking and serving recognizable dishes that people can see themselves making, using farm ingredients that they can visit in the garden or on the pasture. “I want people to know the names of their food,” Malcolm says.
Malcolm’s classes and his farm-based menu at the Farm Cafe and Farm Store have made him one of the most popular people on campus. This food-based work cuts across program areas at Wolfe’s Neck Center, uniting our Visitor Education & Experience focus and our work in vegetable production, livestock grazing, and practice demonstration. In the future, Malcolm is hopeful that Wolfe’s Neck Center can do more food-based visitor programming, as well as work with partners like University of Maine Cooperative Extension to offer training in on-farm food production for vital audiences like chefs and farmers.
Talking with Malcolm, it is powerful to see how the unique resources of Wolfe’s Neck Center have spiced up his cooking and his approach to his craft. Because this place has made cooking fun again for him, he makes cooking fun (and thought-provoking and meaningful) for the people he feeds and teaches.
Visit our website to see the calendar of Wolfe’s Neck Center public programs including food and farming workshops, as well as read up on our seasonal food offerings including the Farm Store and Farm Café and our Farm to Table dinner series in the summer.
Members help steward this place and support our vital work strengthening the regional food system through education, demonstration, and farmer training. Become a member today!
← Back to Blog