Coperta’s chef de cuisine Kenny Minton could be using his Saturday morning to sleep in after a long week. Instead, he spends Friday nights prepping for the weekend, gets up at 8 or 9 a.m. the next day and drives nearly 40 minutes with his sous chef, Cam Lee, to Boulder where the two of them shop for planned restaurant dishes at the Boulder County Farmers Market.On Saturday, Aug.
“It’s cool because some of these farmers we’ve cultivated relationships with will turn to us and ask us what we want them to grow next year,” Fox said. On Aug. 12, Minton and Lee’s first stop on their shopping excursion was Toohey & Sons Organic, a family farm in rural Boulder County. Coperta offers a free amuse bouche to VIP guests, who might be celebrating a birthday or special event, and it changes from week to week. The chefs like to let the farmers’ market inspire their complimentary dishes, and last week they served roasted beets from Toohey & Sons with Calabrian chili, honey, olive oil and fennel.
Because of the excess rain and grasshoppers this summer, Toohey said his harvest has been pushed back five weeks. So, Minton and Lee also visited Croft Farms, out of Kersey, where the soil is different that the usual clay soil in Boulder County. As a result, it’s less impacted by the rain and the crop yields can be different.