Restaurants & Bars
Fat Beet Farms Where Incredible Freshness Abounds
In 2013, Jen and Tim Curci bought a ragged piece of coastal Florida land off Hillsborough Avenue to build a sustainable farm.
WESTCHASE, FL — In 2013, Jen and Tim Curci bought a ragged piece of coastal Florida land off of Hillsborough Avenue between Westchase and Oldsmar with a mission: build a sustainable farm in the heart of Tampa Bay.
The combination of Jen, an avid gardener with an admirable green thumb, and Tim, an accomplished chef. created the vision for Fat Beet Farms.
Their hands-on daughter Josie (pictured far left below with some of the team) was kind enough to take me on a tour of what they have built. It was inspirational and eye opening. This family has created a very special business which continues to grow not only great food but knowledge of sustainable farming.
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Eight years have passed as the family accomplished their dream piece by piece. The culmination thus far resulting in Fat Beet Farm's Kitchen & Bakery which opened six months ago.
The kitchen features a mouth-watering assortment of bakery items, greens, sauces, dressings and prepared meals for takeout. Curbside pickup is available including a crafted craft beer selection (to go for now with wine options on the way).
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The catering menu is a game changer for those planning events. Additional entertainment and event spaces at the farm are in the works.
Before I can talk about the food, I have to talk about what they have created here.
Located on 13 acres on the Old Hillsborough Bay, the land teems with mangroves (the bees are busy making black mangrove honey) and other Florida native trees and plants. Not the most ideal farm land but these folks are not afraid of hard work. Since I last visited a month ago, they have built two new dining patios.
With such salty surroundings, water collection was key. The farm has 35,000 gallons of tank space, and they re-use the rainwater wherever they can.
They had tons of food waste and dead plant matter, but didn’t want to send it to the dump, so they began composting. They partnered with the University of South Florida to build a bio-digester to produce natural fertilizer slurry from food scraps. It's a beast!
Everything is completely digested within 24 hours. The two amazing outputs that are collected from the bio-digester are a nutrient-dense natural fertilizer slurry and methane gas. This slurry allows Fat Beet to grow everything on the farm without any chemical fertilizers, and the methane can be used for cooking or running generators.
Another key part of the sustainability circle is the fish. Fish tanks filter out their waste and convert it into nutrients that are easily absorbed by the lettuce roots. The fish farm recipe for the pellets is taught to others so they can utilize the nutrients for a aquaponic system.
The 3,000-square-foot grow house can grow an impressive 2,200 heads of lettuce per week. The beautiful basil is the star player in their vibrant pesto sauce available for sale in the kitchen.
Micros are exceptionally healthy, high in vitamins and minerals. They contain four to 40 times the nutrient value of their full-grown counterparts.
In the coop and chicken run, the hens have a “living soil” floor. It has layers of compost, worms and horse manure that all feed off each other.
What have we learned today?
EQUALS
The farm will start tours in October. The Sunday morning yoga and mimosa event that it hosts has proven a big hit. There are also opportunities to volunteer and intern on the farm.
Click here for hours and details on yoga sessions, educational tours, field trips and volunteer opportunities.
Tune in for Part 2 when Tampa Bay Food Tours focuses farm-to-table main menu, followed by Part 3 in which Tampa Bay Food Tours will focus on the bakery at Fat Beet Farm Kitchen.
Tampa Bay Food Tours was off for the summer, but will begin hosting tours again starting in September. Tampa Bay Food Tours gives groups of six to 12 people an opportunity to explore the food, wine and craft beer of some of Tampa, Dunedin and St. Petersburg's best eateries and breweries.
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