16 ADIRONDACK LIFE September + October 2019
adds Nick Wheaton, 20. “We care about
bringing people local, fresh products,
where everybody knows where it’s com-
ing from.”
Where it’s coming from is often not
very far—vegetables from Juniper Hill
and Keeseville’s Fledging Crow; chees-
es from Asgaard and Sugar House
Creamery, in Upper Jay; potatoes from
Tucker Farms, in Gabriels; eggs for that
handmade pasta from Saranac Lake’s
Moonstone Farm and Forest; pork from
Kate Mountain Farm; mushrooms from
Pierrepont’s Deep Root Farm. “We have
a great relationship with a lot of local
farms,” says McCarthy. “Even in the
middle of winter, there’s still a lot of
product available.”
Another lesson is keeping food waste
to a minimum. “Each menu feeds into
the next one,” says McCarthy. “Don’t
throw away the asparagus trim, make it
into soup.” Scraps that can’t be used are
sent to Moonstone Farm for composting.
But beyond philosophy and cooking
skills, shifts at The Ganzi cultivate effi-
ciency, organization and flexibility. “You
can’t just learn how to make hollandaise
sauce,” McCarthy says. “You have to fig-
ure out how to make it in a hot kitchen,
in too-small a space with people work-
ing around you.”
Here, students carve out their places
in the chain between farm and table.
“We put our heart and soul on the plate,”
says Wheaton.IF YOU GO
The Ganzi, in Paul Smith’s College’s
Cant well Hall, is open for lunch Wed-
nesday through Friday during the fall
and spring semesters, with five-course
dinners offered on Fridays. Seating for
lunch happens at 11:30 a.m., 12 p.m.
and 12:30 p.m. Dinner is served three
evenings a week during the summer
term. For reservations, call (518) 327-
6355 or email acburnett@paulsmiths
.edu. Special events happen throughout
the year, in cluding a collaboration with
DaCy Meadow Farm, of Westport, at
the Adirondack Harvest Festival, tak-
ing place on September 20 at the Essex
County Fairgrounds. See http://www.adiron
dackharvest.com for details.DINING