Restaurant Spotlight - Percy’s and CO.
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Meet Robb Oldham, Chef de Cuisine at Percy’s & Co. in Ballard. Every Sunday he creates a “limited” plate sourcing directly from the farmers, fishers, and processors at the Ballard Farmers Market.
We recently had a chance to get a “behind the scenes look” of the most recent Sunday Market plate and took the opportunity to ask him some questions about the importance of sourcing locally.
What’s your goal with the "limited" farmers market dish you make every Sunday?
Robb - The goal with limited dishes is simple. To make it special. To make it sustainable with no waste of product. With all the hard work that goes into this on my end and the purveyors, I would never want to waste anything. But truly, it’s to make it special.
Robb plating his latest “limited” Sunday market dish, a delicous Sockeye Crudo
Why do you care about sourcing from local farms and farmers markets?
Robb - I care because I care about food. I care about my community's livelihood. I care about my friends at the farmer's market. I care about my staff and guests eating healthy and fresh. If I’m purchasing food to resell it, I want to shake the hand of the human that produced it.
It’s important to do this because it’s our job as chefs to showcase our community and their work in bringing this to your plate. For example, most people walk by St Jude's booth and think “oh that’s gotta be some super yummy tuna” and you better believe it is. But what you don’t see is the crew on the boat that put their life on the line in the ocean during horrible storms just so we can enjoy some tuna. This makes me so proud to work directly with them to create food from their hard work. I could go on and on about the importance of the market, but you get the picture.
Which Farms do you source the most from and why?
Robb - Ha, is this some kind of loaded question? You guys know that Charlie and I are great friends, which a pile of other chefs also are. He’s the owner of Rain Dog farms and sells micro greens. I buy from him a lot because it just seems to complete almost every dish. We also use his products in our cocktail program, and he shucks oysters at our events with us. I also source from a laundry list of other Sunday market vendors.
Torin at Cascadia Meats is always a great conversation
My dog gets her treats from Marcus at Valley Dogs
I’m pretty sure I’ve worked something into my specials from most of the market at some point. I also work directly with other small farms not at the market Like Travis Leamer at Crooked Fork Farms and Tim Dippy from Dipple's Pickles. They are all a part of this community.
How did you form these relationships?
Robb - We formed these relationships out of passion; both sides. Also, simply walking the market every Sunday, rain or shine, for the last two years. Speaking of, I want to give a ‘thanks’ to all the farmers market employees who make this possible for everyone as well.
The Ballard Farmers Market greatly applauds what Robb is doing at Percy’s, and every chef out there that connects with their local growers and processors. Sourcing locally has such a positive impact on everyone involved. We highly recommend adding Percy’s and Co. to your dining out calendar, and of course, try to get one of his “limited” market plates on Sunday while you are grabbing your weekly market haul!
