The SF Chronicle has a great article about Bob Klein’s effort to get pasta made from local whole grain wheat.
Five years ago, Oliveto restaurant in Oakland already had a menu full of local produce, meat and fish, but owner Bob Klein wanted the pasta to be local, too. He brought wheat seeds back from Italy and found nearby farmers to grow them.
He discovered, however, that the cost of cleaning and milling the grain on such a small scale was prohibitive. Local flour would be much more difficult to access than lettuce or eggs.
“As it turns out, grain is way more complicated than anything else,” said Klein. Still, he became so committed to locally grown wheat that he created Community Grains, a line of whole-grain dried pasta…..
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Pasta from California-grown heirloom wheat and grains
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