The term “Rise and Shine” was made for people like Trevor Clatterbuck and Adam Lambert. They have been getting up before sunrise for months, working long hours readying their new project. And it’s pretty exciting. Both are heavy weights in Cleveland’s local food scene independently, (Trevor is the man behind Fresh Fork Market, a very popular CSA business (community supported agriculture) in Cleveland. Adam is a well-established local chef, who’s logged hours in the kitchens of Bar Cento, and The Black Pig, to name just a couple) but together they’re doing something that isn’t being done anywhere else in town.
The plans are to open up a market and butcher shop in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland, near St. Ignatius High School. The two plan to grow or raise everything they’ll sell there. Fans of Fresh Fork will find all the good quality produce they’re used to (sourced from farms within 75-100 miles of Cleveland, organic when possible, and picked at the peak of freshness).
But what’s new, innovative and mouth-watering…is what they’re doing with hogs. The pair have been experimenting with animal husbandry and feed to develop meat that you can’t get anywhere else in the state.
I got a tour of the property in Holmes County where they have about 150 hogs on site. Mangalitsa, Berkshire, Mulefoot, Red Wattle…all new vocabulary to me. But what they have planned is not…charcuterie. Yes, please!
They’ve got a supply chain in place, thanks to their “adventures in hog sourcing.” The details of which the pair chuckle about, but don’t care to share. After all, learning about heritage breeds is new territory for them too. Clatterbuck has a background in business and political science. Lambert is a self-taught chef. But the two both seem right at home on the 200 acre property where they plan to get a lot of their product.
They’re promising the best pork in the state. The red wattles are said to be more tender. The mangalitsas, used for things like Jamon Iberico.
What takes time, but will be worth the wait, I’m told…is controlling the product…all of it…from start to finish. They are playing with breeds and what they feed the animals to get optimal product. These hogs are given specific ratios of barley and grass from the fields. Lambert says they have marbled loins, and even appear more red than pink when you cut into them.
Red Wattle Pig at Wholesome Valley Farm in Holmes County, Ohio
Plus, they’re also raising other animals. They have laying chickens, meat birds and heritage birds, whose pens and coops are moved weekly to insure exposure to fresh grass and soil for them to feed on, not to mention fresh air.
They’re also working on ways to make heritage poultry more affordable. (which currently takes 18 wks.)
The Hereford beef they are raising will be grass-fed, sustainable and have better flavor, according to Clatterbuck. Those with smaller frames, he says, are easier to finish without incorporating high energy corn and grain. Their plans also include growing non-GMO (and eventually, organic) corn and soy beans on site so the animals can feed off that.
There is so much in the works it’ll make your head spin. The infrastructure is already in place for maple syrup production. There are hives on site, for bees to pollinate the produce and generate honey.
They have secured their cannery, bakery, frozen foods and ferments permits. OCP has acquired heavy machinery like bean snippers and corn huskers to handle the volume when fresh produce “comes in like a hurricane,” as Clatturbuck says.
When the store is up and running you can expect incredible products. Believe me, I’ve had some of Chef Lambert’s charcuterie and it is unbelievable. A true art. But he’s even upped his game. Clatterbuck and Lambert are fresh off a 2 day charcuterie workshop in Gascony, France.
And since it costs more (time and money) to raise these kinds of hogs, you can bet they won’t be selling them as pork chops. You’ll see smoked and cured meats, specialty sausage and charcuterie.
Rendering of the Ohio City Provisions storefront
Clatterbuck and Lambert are aiming to open Ohio City Provisions in January. Can’t wait to see what will fill their cases, and the bellies of Clevelanders once they open their doors.
Cheftovers 