Restaurateur, Farmer, Chef and a Recipe for Change

by LeeAnna Tatum

I recently had the opportunity to visit Potlikker Farm on Blythe Island. I had been intrigued for more than a year by this farm which I discovered on Instagram, drawn in by the name and hooked on the photos and snippets of information about: daikon radishes, radicchio, kohlrabi, purple peas, okra, patty pans…

“A passion project out on Blythe Island from the folks behind Georgia Sea Grill.” That’s what the profile said.

I was curious and wanted to know more. I wanted to know who these folks were and see what they were up to.

The folks I met up with were restaurateur Zack Gowen (owner of Georgia Sea Grill and Potlikker Farm), farmer Sam McPherson (who manages Potlikker Farm) and Executive Chef Timothy Lensch of Georgia Sea Grill. And what they are up to is something quite extraordinary.

It’s not a completely new concept to have a restaurant with a farm or a farm that develops a restaurant, but it’s still quite rare and something unique in this area. But what Zack and his team are really doing is even more exciting than that. They are generating a local food system and sparking a greater movement toward organically grown, clean foods.

Born and raised in the area, Zack has been in the restaurant business for more than a decade having spent much of that time owning a sports bar. As part of a franchise, Zack was limited in his ability to choose how he sourced the food for the bar. When he decided to branch out on his own and open Georgia Sea Grill, a whole new world of opportunities awaited him.

Beyond simply opening a new restaurant, Zack knew he wanted to diversify into other areas involving food - specifically organic foods like those he would choose for himself and his own family.

“I wanted to do something more than just a restaurant and not doing just another restaurant … kind of diversifying and staying in the same realm and knowing where the food comes from,” Zack explained.

So, not long after opening the restaurant on St. Simon’s Island, Zack began looking for farmable land nearby.

“I was searching around for land for a while and somehow stumbled on this land for sale … it still had the pictures of the fields with the goats (this used to be an old goat farm) and I went out and looked at and thought, this is perfect!”

Once he had the farm, he needed a farmer.

“I’ve known (Sam) for a while and know where his heart’s at … he’s the first person I thought of.”

Sam has been farming for five years but has been passionate about growing food for most of his life. When Zack approached him about farming, Sam was in a transitional period and looking for his next move, knowing that he wanted to work with food.

“My wife and I had an organic cooperative in the area so we sourced local vegetables as well as growing our own … Zack used to order from the co-op back in the day. After we were done with the co-op … my wife and I started looking at other things to do,” Sam explained. “I’m from the military, I have my GI bill, so I thought about going back to school … So when I did, I went for culinary.”

Part of his culinary training was to complete an apprenticeship at a local restaurant.

“I wanted to go work at Georgia Sea Grill to do my apprenticeship. And it was about that time that Zack had found this place (Potlikker Farm), it just was serendipitous.”

The property is on Blythe Island and just a short drive from the restaurant. It was already known as Potlikker’s place due to the original owner who, among other things, had farmed and run a shrimp boat. Considering their own plans for the farm, the name seemed a perfect fit.

“Growing up, we knew that potlikker was someone who was really poor but knew how to make it because they drank the potlikker (or pot liquor), Sam said. “...So, we loved it. And we found out, he was a real potlikker, like he used everything.”

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The second year of the farm is currently underway and more and more of the land is being cleared and farmed. The property was originally very overgrown and neglected but is being methodically reclaimed and put to use.

Sam grows a mix of plants traditionally grown in the area like corn, okra, tomatoes and peas along with some more exotic crops like a Japanese mustard green that tastes a bit like wasabi. This past season, he also grew some habanadas which have all the flavor of habanero with none of the heat.

All this variety is a dream come true for Chef Tim Lensch.

“Habanados are wonderful because some people can’t take the heat of a habanero,” Tim explained, “but these have all the taste and smells and everything and you just knew the heat was coming but it never did. They were great!”

“Pretty much for the most part, he (Sam) shows up with a bunch of stuff. I go through it and use it all. Honey, turnips, peas, flowers for garnishes,” Tim said.

“At the end of the day, I love it. We’ve been like this as soon as Zack gave me the opportunity. Whatever I can get locally, I do … the longevity, the freshness, the care that goes in it, it’s just night and day from something that’s widely produced.”

Tim enjoys the freedom to create new dishes with unexpected ingredients and gets the opportunity to showcase farm-fresh foods every day.

“Some of the stuff he (Sam) shows up with like the gagon cucumber… and I was like what do we do with this? We ended up making a huge thing of gazpacho and it was great,” Tim commented. “There’s been a few things that he’s brought that I had no experience with. So it’s fun for me because I’m getting introduced to new things.”

The relationship between the restaurant and farm and the relationships between restaurateur, chef and farmer works really well.

“It’s the best possible scenario … to have a chef to give everything to that will just take anything I give him and make magic out of it. And to have an owner that I’ve already worked with and worked for - it’s the best possible scenario,” Sam said.

“There’s not a lot of places around here that can say, we have a farm,” Tim agreed. “It’s wonderful being able to work with Zack and being a part of his story … Meeting all the farmers over the years. I don’t ever know who or what is going to come in the back door. From fish to mushrooms to microgreens … I’m glad that Sea Grill has the reputation that we want local.”

“I’ve always been around southern food and acknowledged it,” Zack said, “but having Georgia Sea Grill, I’ve gone from acknowledging it to embracing it. It’s been quite an amazing journey.”

“The food is grown with love by Sam and handled with love from Tim … they’re both in tune and they see the big picture,” Zack continued. “It’s fun being outside of the box!”

Moving beyond the restaurant and the farm, Zack continues to diversify. He also has a catfish farm which will be producing its first harvest within the next couple of months. The catfish are organically fed and will be processed for use in the restaurant.

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Potlikker Farm is also in the process of moving beyond being simply a supply line for Georgia Sea Grill. The plan is to be able to also supply other area restaurants and to also sell directly to the public through an onsite farmstand and participation in local farmers markets.

This next phase in the plan is meant to help develop a community of growers and consumers for sustainably produced goods within their local area.

“The potential for growth in the clean food organic market down here - the sky’s the limit,” Sam said.

Within the last few years, two major organic growers: Sapelo Farms and Canewater Farms have left the area, leaving a void that begs to be filled. For Zack, there is risk but it is also a niche market that is waiting for a supplier.

Having a restaurateur and business owner who is willing to think outside the box and take risks to pursue different avenues of sourcing and providing sustainable food is a great asset to that local food system.

Add to that a farmer who is committed to growing foods using methods beyond organic standards and a chef who takes delight in preparing those ingredients and you have the right recipe to kickstart a local food movement.

Sometimes a recipe just comes together. The right mix of ingredients combined correctly at just the right time to create something truly special - something worth noting, worth sharing and worth repeating.