Family Farm Restored by Noted Boston Chef

Ben Elliott got up early on Thursday morning to stir the boiling pot of corn relish that bubbled on his stove.

Nearby was a counter filled with jars of homemade tomato sauce that he preserved the day before. All the vegetables he uses come from his expansive garden, and it's all free of chemicals.

Elliott is a chef with many years working at No. 9 in Boston and in Barbara Lynch's test kitchen in the South End called, "Stir." Elliott also made and tested all the recipes in Lynch's cookbook also titled, "Stir."

But Elliott came to a crossroads of sorts, when he and his wife wanted to settle down and start a family that now includes three-year-old Sam. Restaurant work was demanding, working nights, weekends, holidays, plus testing recipes and consulting with Lynch.

So when the opportunity came up to move out of the city to the family farm on Westford Road five years ago, he jumped in and set about restoring the 10-acre spread.

"My grandparents built the farm in the 1940s," said Elliott as his son, Sam, cruised through the kitchen. "It was typical of that era, a farm that supported my grandparents. There was a good garden, with apple trees, a cow, pigs, sheep and what not."

But now, he said the small working New England farm is dying out, and he wants to revive Saltbox Farm to its former use, as well as teach cooking classes and cook for groups of people in and around Concord.

"I love cooking," he said. "It is my primary passion."

Elliott stumbled into cooking when he needed a job in college and got hired as the cook at a fraternity at Hartwick College from which he graduated in 1993. He did not go to a formal culinary school, but his love of food fueled his success as he found jobs in Boston and San Francisco as a distinguished chef.

Last spring, he began "transitioning over time" to concentrating on Saltbox Farm. He has two steer in the back that he will use for the family's meat for the winter, and a huge vegetable garden that he maintains to stock not just his kitchen, but the small stand on Westford Road where he sells flowers, vegetables and his own honey.

When he gets the time, he will add a chicken coop, and may raise some sheep or pigs since they are easier to handle than the larger bovines.

"I want to somehow use this farm as a place of inspiration for others," he said. "I want to give cooking lessons, plus jar and preserve what I grow. I want to educate people about where food comes from."

He is eager to cook for an intimate dinner or for a group of friends around their kitchen. He can rattle off several varieties of tomatoes and squash that he is growing such as zucchini in the shape of a baseball that he will hollow out and fill with a meat or rice mixture and put into the oven. Or the zebra tomatoes that are green striped, but taste the same and can be used for sandwiches or sauce.

Next year, Elliott plans to offer interested people a chance to grow their own produce at Saltbox Farm, then learn how to cook it or preserve it. He currently provides vegetables and fruits for the Carlisle Farm Market and other outlets.

"I love the local food movement," said Elliott. "I want to participate with what is going on with it."

He said people who love good food are invited to visit him at the farm.

"After working for chefs, I would enjoy teaching anyone who wants to learn, and have a blast while they're at it," he said. "I love the kitchen."

"We are so lucky to have small farms and small producers here in Concord," said Elliott. "They need support to keep them going. They are a dying breed."

To contact Elliott, email belliottsaltbox@hotmail.com.