Farm-to-table Work
Driftless
Peter grew up on a small, diversified, organic farm 8 miles north of Decorah, Iowa along the banks of Canoe Creek, surrounded by forests, pasture and prairie. Peter collected the chicken eggs every day after school, he foraged for mushrooms and berries, and helped out in the gardens during the summer. This pastoral upbringing is the foundation of connections to the Driftless food system that inform and inspire his work as a farm-to-table culinary artist and place-based educator.
Peter studied Biology, Spanish and Environmental Ethics at Luther College, where it became clear that ecology, sustainability, and justice were ideas that Peter was interested in pursuing further.
Peter moved to Washington in 2012 where he worked for two years as a cook at Holden Village and where he met his future wife Rachael Button. At Holden Peter was inspired by the power of hospitality and learned how to make enough food to feed a village!
While in Washington Peter also apprenticed on Leaping Sheep Farm, a diversified vegetable and fiber farm based in the arid Okanagan Valley, and witnessed first hand both the challenges of farming along and the powerful role a supportive community has in keeping small farms alive.
In 2014 Peter and Rachael moved to Maine where they were married and took active roles on farms (Goranson Farm, Fuzzy Udder Creamery), in restaurants (Rising Tide Co-op, Solo Bistro, Frontier), and in schools (Juniper Hill, Unity College) and joined the thriving farm-to-table movement.
Peter also discovered that Maine had begun a revival of its local grain economy, which created great opportunities for including grains in the farm-to-table movement. Peter took this opportunity to start a small bakery called Driftless Sourdough in honor of the land he comes from. Along with baking bread and supporting local grains Peter taught several bread baking and cooking classes.
Teaching became a focus for Peter as it was a joyful and effective way to share, learn and connect with others that complemented farm-to-table marketing and storytelling.
So in order to be closer to family in the Midwest and for Peter to pursue teaching more professionally Peter and Rachael moved to Northern Wisconsin to spend a year working as Environmental Stewardship Teaching Fellows at the Conserve School.
After a year in Wisconsin, Peter and Rachael moved again to work and teach at Scattergood Friends School, a Quaker, boarding high school with an organic farm and tallgrass prairie in Eastern Iowa. Peter taught Biology as well as a farm-based seminar all about soil and stewardship of soil in agriculture.
While Peter was at Scattergood Friends School he also participated in a citizen artist-in-residence program in Houston, Minnesota. The Crystal Creek Citizen Artist-in-residence. Peter's guiding question during the residency was "Could the Driftless Region have a distinct cuisine and if did, what would it taste like, look like, smell like, feel like?
Peter's various experiences in kitchens and on farms have come together in his current role managing the Iowa Food Hub. Much like running a diversified farm, running a food hub is no easy endeavor, but is incredibly fulfilling. After riding out the early days of the Covid-19 Pandemic, Peter has helped grow the Iowa Food Hub's operations and positively impact the local producers he cares about.
Peter finds joy and makes a priority of exploring various parts of the world through food, while also maintaining a strong connection to the Midwest's Driftless region. Having experienced many distinct regional cuisines around the world, his work to identify Driftless cuisine in an ongoing project.
