Spice of Life, the umbrella group that includes a restaurant, catering company, and farm-to-table garden plots, is installing new raised beds and a high tunnel hoop house behind its restaurant and offices at W. 58th and Detroit Avenue to satisfy growing demand for local food in its operations.

"I like the idea of people being seated on the patio and seeing chefs pick herbs, go back to the kitchen and make things out of them," says chef and owner Ben Bebenroth, who also has 10,000 square feet of gardens behind his home. Additional food is sourced on a weekly basis from 30 to 60 Northeast Ohio farms. The food is used at Spice Kitchen + Bar as well as for catering jobs. "My focus now is on transforming ornamentals into edible ornamentals."

Bebenroth, who says that he's always thinking about "what's in season," is building the hoop house to extend his growing season to nearly 10 months out of the year. He is now growing quick crops such as lettuces that he can replant every 45 days.

"I think it's really important to have a hoop house for the neighborhood and the neighborhood kids to see," he says. "It's a shining example of what's possible."

Bebenroth's main motivation for expanding his gardens is that regional farms often have trouble keeping up with Spice of Life's demands for top quality, locally grown foods. By hiring a farm manager and sourcing as much food from his own farms as possible, Bebenroth is better able to keep up with growing demand.

Source: Ben Bebenroth
Writer: Lee Chilcote