Our Names are: Chef Gregory Arnold and Lindsay Berman
We host and also own: Dark Horse Organic, the line of ferments and pantry staples and Dark Horse Cooking Club (DHCC).
What led you to start Dark Horse ? After Chef Greg worked in restaurants for over a decade, he had decided that the sauces, ferments and pantry staples that he had perfecting where necessary for the home cook to elevate their dishes and to elevate their health.
And how did the Cooking Club come about ? We were just filming recipes on our instagram stories and had such a good response from our community that we decided a full on cooking club was a better way to teach and connect with home cooks and foodies.
Why do you think online classes are helpful ? Cooking is a form of mediation. The more practice you have, the more relaxed you can get, the better cook you will become.
Have you met any of your DHCC students IRL? Who? The whole time we were doing the cooking class people weren’t really meeting in public so much. And, there are people in the club from all over the country. We hope to have some cooking club dinner parties where we can all meet.
As a chef who sources as much organic produce and organic food as possible, what does eating and cooking organically mean to you ? Eating organic food is the number one priority for me and our family. It doesn’t matter if we are eating vegan food, meat, raw food, dairy, all of it… as long as it’s organic, natural, and nongmo.
Why is organic produce beyond a trend ? Some things go beyond trends and should be adopted as permanent ways of living.
What do people misunderstand about organic food most?
I think the thing that people have the biggest issue and misunderstanding with organic food is the cost. You have to understand that in this country the government subsidizes farming and food production, so farmers technically are forced to grow crops and produce food at a loss, then the government subsidizes that loss to bring the profit into the red. So, organic food is not expensive, it is sold at the actual cost required to produce the crops and the conventional foods are sold at a loss and so they appear to be cheap and that cheap price is what people look at as the baseline price.
What are 3 things people should look out for when picking the best produce they have access to ?
- Location. You should be eating foods “for the most part” grown locally.
- Although we live in california and seasons are few and far between. We should strive to eat foods in the height of their season because that is what our natural body cycles will crave, if we eat foods that are out of season that means that they are being shipped in from far away places “see 1.”
- Healthy food like healthy people should look vibrant and have clear shiny skin.
Recommended books/videos/resources to learn more To tell you the truth I learned almost everything I know about organic food and farming from creating relationships with the farmers at the farmers market that I buy my products from. I like to ask questions- about how long the season lasts, what other types of crops are planting at the same time, how they create compost and soil, a whole host of questions. I highly recommend developing relationships and starting friendships with the people who grow your food, you can learn everything straight from the source if you just take the time to get to know them.
