Local. Seasonal. Delicious . . . A True Taste of Oregon
Executive Chef Adam Ruplinger, Steamboat Inn, Idleyld Park, Oregon Adam grew up on a farm in the heart of Wisconsin, where meat and potatoes are king. But the move to Minneapolis proved to have the biggest influence on his culinary style; he landed squarely at the side of a James Beard Best Chef: Mid-West semifinalist Doug Flicker at Auriga. After assisting Chef Flicker at a James Beard House dinner, Adam’s passion took flight. He learned to push the boundaries of what a chef can do with food. After ten years in Minneapolis kitchens (Auriga, Sous Chef at Martini Blu, Mission, Barrio, Common Roots, Chef de Cuisine at Cocina del Barrio), Adam made a pilgrimage to Portland, Oregon. In August of 2013, fresh off Interstate 84, Coppia Restaurant & Wine Bar nabbed him as the Executive Chef before anyone else had the opportunity. At Coppia the focus was on the food and wine of Piedmont, Italy. But Adam was able to infuse his devotion to locally sourced ingredients, supporting organic farmers when possible. Then the excitement of a bold new restaurant project drew Adam to The Parrott House at Roseburg, Oregon. Adam oversaw the design and transformation of several former upstairs bedrooms of the house into a full kitchen. As Executive Chef, he also created and executed a European-focused menu. His farm-to-table passion drew him to Steamboat Inn which has had a commitment to sourcing locally long before it was a movement. Adam is the perfect addition to the team at Steamboat. Here he provides guests with a true taste of Oregon perfectly paired with local wines. He also loves cooking on the Big Green Egg and trying out new flavor profiles each season. At the Steamboat Inn, he works with Executive Sous Chef Bryar Horn and Sous Chef Keenan McGrew, providing guests with a true taste of Oregon.
Covid-19 News: The restaurant at the Steamboat Inn is closed until mid April. Everyone stay safe and take care of each other. We will see you soon.
Steamboat Inn 42705 North Umpqua Highway Idleyld Park, OR, 97447, United States 541-498-2230
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Long before humans populated the planet, plants, animals, and soil evolved and thrived through an elegant and efficient exchange of nutrient commerce that benefitted all three. Plants fed both the soil and the animals. The animals (through their waste) fed the soil, which in turn fed the plants. It wasn’t until the introduction of fossil fuel-based, synthetic fertilizers in the mid-twentieth century that all of that changed.
For a time, it appeared as though science was able to exceed the production capacity of nature. Indeed, synthetic fertilizers (and the mining of carbon-rich soils) produced a never before imagined bounty throughout the industrial agriculture era. But that bounty continues to come at a cost, including off-site environmental impacts like hypoxic (dead) zones in our oceans and cyanobacteria outbreaks in our lakes—the result of fertilizer runoff from our farms. In addition, the industrial agriculture model is heavily reliant upon chemicals that have known detrimental impacts on insect populations as well as the plants, animals, and humans that come in contact with them. Regenerative agricultural practices, in contrast, put back in place the natural symbiotic relationships between plants, animals, and soil. In so doing, these practices ameliorate the adverse environmental and climate impacts of industrial agriculture as well as restore the nutrient density and flavor to our food. “To put it simply,” says Allen Williams, Ph.D., 6th generation farmer and founding partner of Soil Health Consultants, if we correct our soil health problems, then we will correct our mineral density and flavor issues in our foods. The health of the soil holds the key to human health, our planet’s health, and the flavor of our food.” To learn more please visit: Soil Health Academy About Dr. Allen WilliamsAllen Williams is a 6th generation family farmer and founding partner of Soil Health Consultants, LLC, Grass Fed Insights, LLC, and a partner in Joyce Farms, Inc. He has consulted with more than 4,200 farmers and ranchers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and South America on operations ranging from a few acres to over 1 million acres. Allen pioneered many of the early adaptive grazing protocols and forage finishing techniques and has spent the last fifteen years refining those. He is a "recovering academic," having served fifteen years on the faculty at Louisiana Tech University and Mississippi State University. He holds a BS and MS in Animal Science from Clemson University and a Ph.D. in Livestock Genetics from LSU. He has authored more than 400 scientific and popular press articles, and is an invited speaker at regional, national, and international conferences and symposia. His major areas of research and business focus include soil health, cover crop/livestock integration, adaptive forage and grazing management, high attribute pasture-based meat production, and alternative marketing systems. Allen and his colleagues specialize in whole farm and ranch planning based on the concept of regenerative agriculture. Their approach creates significant "value add" and prepares the landowner for multiple enterprise/revenue stream opportunities that stack enterprises and acres. This approach allows for enhanced profitability and/or investment value. They routinely conduct workshops and seminars across North America.
Science suggests that improving soil health can bring taste and nutrient density back to our food.
You see the red, tempting slice of delicious on your sandwich. It was labeled “tomato” in the produce section of the supermarket where you picked it up. It certainly looks like a tomato and even has the faint, familiar smell of tomato. But after just one bite, your taste buds aren’t buying it. Meh. Blah. It might as well be a slice of water-filled balloon for all the flavor it offers. This reaction seems to be increasingly familiar. And it’s not just the tomatoes that betray our sense of taste and smell. When it comes to most commercially grown fruits, vegetables, and meats, consumers across the country are increasingly asking, “Where has all the flavor gone?” Have our taste buds been dulled, or is something more nefarious stealing the taste from our food? Science suggests it’s probably not the food itself, but how we grow the food that matters most when it comes to increasing taste and nutrition. Research now shows that what passes as food and what actually tastes like food is most affected by a secret that’s hidden under foot. For some time, we’ve known that a single teaspoon of healthy soil contains more life (bacteria, protozoa, fungi, nematodes, worms, etc.) than there are people on the planet. The soil biome is the single largest on earth, but is among the least understood. This mostly unseen and largely underappreciated ecosystem is responsible for all terrestrial life. Simply put, without our living soil, there would be no “us” or any other terra firma creatures roaming about. Today, scientists exploring this subterranean frontier are working not only to identify the microscopic organisms that make up this elegant ecosystem, but also to more fully understand the complex interactions and symbiosis between these organisms, the plants they feed, and the plants and animals that ultimately feed us. Read all about An Introduction to Regenerative Agriculture By Ron Nichols in our current edition. Order your copy today - quantites are limited! Source: Soil Health Academy
From a simple, lonely melody to an intricate sonata, sometimes it feels like music can speak directly to your heart in a language that you don’t know but your emotions understand. And that’s because music is a language, the language of emotion. And I mean that literally. Music has structure, progression, and syntax—just like language. The brain even processes musical syntax using the same area it uses to process language syntax. Next time you hear someone speaking emotionally, listen to the acoustic characteristics of the voice. The person will mirror music of the same emotion: fast, loud, and high for excitement and happiness, slower and softer for melancholy.
~ Ali Jennings, Ph.D. in neuroscience. University College London Read the entire article in the current edition of Nourish and Flourish. Article reprinted with permission, Alistair Jennings, Ph.D., American Institution of Physics. |
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