WASHINGTON 鈥� On a sunny Friday afternoon, Chef Rob Weland is getting ready for a busy dinner service at his Barracks Row restaurant . Only, Weland isn鈥檛 in his whites, and he isn鈥檛 prepping ingredients or briefing the staff.
He isn鈥檛 even in the kitchen.
Weland is leaning over a cone-shaped cage that鈥檚 supporting young tomato vines, just a few feet from D.C.鈥檚 Southeast Freeway.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my favorite smell, a tomato leaf,鈥� he said, over the sound of cars whizzing by. 鈥淚 remember my grandfather had [tomatoes] when I was a kid, and I always remember that fondly.鈥�
Twelve years ago, Weland instituted a practice that chefs all over the city have since adopted. On the patio at Poste, just a block from the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro station, Weland started a garden with a few pots and some raised beds. He鈥檚 credited as the first chef in D.C. to do so.
But when Weland left Poste in 2011 with plans to open his own restaurant, he left behind the space he needed to grow tomatoes for his famed tomato salads 鈥� and the basil to top it.
Like most restaurants and businesses in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, Garrison, which Weland opened last summer, is in a rowhouse-type building. There鈥檚 no room on either side for a garden; a sushi restaurant occupies the second floor and roof.
So Weland did the next best thing: He put his name on a waiting list for a local community garden, just a few blocks from the restaurant. When a spot opened up this spring, Weland got to work planting.
With the sound of mufflers, horns and sirens in such proximity (鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 get any more urban than this,鈥� Weland said), the location may not seem ideal for gardeners seeking serenity. But to Weland, any garden is better than no garden.
鈥淓ven though we鈥檙e next to a highway, it鈥檚 still got a lot of life,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ext to being in the restaurant on a day-to-day basis, this is my favorite place to be. I love it out here.鈥�
This summer, Weland is devoting most of the space in his modest plot to heirloom tomatoes 鈥� he鈥檚 planted 18 different varieties. Basil, sweet onion and sugar snap peas occupy the remaining square footage.
To bulk up the restaurant鈥檚 produce selection, Weland partnered with Mike Protas of One Acre Farm, and he is even supplementing with a few ingredients from his home garden.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing like that flavor; I was taught that a very long time ago. There鈥檚 nothing like picking something and then serving it to a guest. To me, it鈥檚 night and day,鈥� he said.
And while homegrown ingredients augment the flavors on Weland鈥檚 vegetable-heavy menu, he says having a restaurant garden is about so much more than the food harvested: It鈥檚 education.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of a stronger connection than to have the cooks or the externs from culinary school go outside and pick the fruit or the herb that they鈥檙e going to be using,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 think the important lesson to teach young cooks is something that鈥檚 just picked and used right away is a totally different flavor profile 鈥� it鈥檚 much more aromatic and it certainly lasts a lot longer. It鈥檚 just a beautiful thing. And it鈥檚 healthier.鈥�
Space requirements aside, there are other challenges when it comes to maintaining a restaurant garden. The biggest one is time 鈥� especially for chefs, who work long and brutal hours.
鈥淚t needs attention: You have to weed it, you have to water it, you have to give it love,鈥� Weland said. 鈥淧eople tend to forget about it once it鈥檚 planted. It鈥檚 not a once-a-week thing.鈥�
Weland may have pioneered restaurant gardens in the city, but he is no longer alone in the movement. He says these days most chefs look to incorporate gardened ingredients on their menus on some level 鈥斅犫�渨hether it鈥檚 rooftops on hotels or utilizing any square footage that has [sun] exposure.鈥�
Chef farms for his restaurant on the rooftop at Union Market. Restaurant Eve鈥檚 chef, Cathal Armstrong, next to his Alexandria eatery.
At Garrison, Weland鈥檚 focus is on the next generation.
鈥淚f I inspire a couple of cooks, a couple of externs, that鈥檚 all I鈥檓 looking to do,鈥� he said.
