Chef Jessica Baldus crafts elevated menus with farm-fresh ingredients
Here in Iowa, farm to table isn’t just a trend – it’s our way of life. The focus on fresh and locally grown produce is especially prominent in Iowa’s restaurant scene, where innovative chefs across the state craft menus that prioritize locally sourced ingredients.
Chef Jessica Baldus is the epitome of this mindset, and she shares her passion for farm to table through her four businesses in Osage, which is located just 30 miles northeast of Mason City.
The Bakery expanded her original cheesecake operation; Piggyback Smoke Shack is a “ghost kitchen” that serves pop-ups and stationary food truck style dishes; Taste is a full-service restaurant that also acts as her chef’s playground and hosts chef’s tables and monthly progressive dinners; and the Market offers an “eat local” shop that sells the locally sourced produce, herbs and meat used for Piggyback’s and Taste’s menus, plus a daily selection of grab-and-go individual and family-style meals.
“I’m very passionate about farm to table, farm to fork, just for the sense that I know our farmers. The farmers that I’m working with daily, I know them by name, I know their legacy. I’ve visited their farms, and I think there’s so much to say about knowing that when my guests are walking in and supporting me, they’re also supporting our farmers and our community in a larger sense.”
Fresh & Local
When visitors walk into The Market or the connected Taste restaurant, they can see for themselves how many farmers Jessica partners with. Painted on the wall behind the grab-and-go cooler, the dozen farms include Dam Pure Honey, Red Rooster Ranch, Cameo View Acres, Mossycup Farms and even the Osage Farmers’ Market.
Those producers supply ingredients for Taste’s gourmet menu and The Market, as well as Jessica’s popular Monthly Progressive Dinners, which are held on the third Friday of each month. This reservation-only event gives diners the chance to sample Jessica’s genius concoctions in an intimate setting and learn more about the meal’s flavor profiles and the farms that sourced its ingredients from Jessica herself.
These dinners, alongside her more exclusive Chef’s Tables and classes she teaches at the local YMCA, have re-introduced the importance of knowing where your food comes from to both Osage locals and visitors that travel 10s to 100s of miles to admire Jessica’s craft.
“We have some of the richest soil here in Iowa, and just knowing that our produce was grown miles away from us provides such a sense of well-being,” Jessica said. “The products that are being cultivated right here in our backyard are so much more nutrient-dense and flavorful. It’s my hope that at the end of the day, my guests are reaching out to those farmers, touring their farms like I did and getting to know them and why they do what they do.”
Passion & Community
As more people enjoy Jessica’s four businesses and the meals she prepares for farm to table events like those at Art Farm Iowa, she thrills in watching them try new things and develop an appreciation for fresh food. She vividly remembers a Chef’s Table group who originally expressed a strong dislike for mushrooms until Jessica introduced the eight different varieties she sources locally, each with different textures and flavors, and they quickly changed their minds.
Now, the excitement around trying elevated cuisine in a small rural town is strongly evident throughout Jessica’s many endeavors – her seasonal soup and salad creations often sell out for the week and it’s difficult to get a place at her Farm to Fork events. Her creations have even convinced visitors passing through town to extend their stay and spend more time exploring Osage’s Main Street shops and restaurants.
“I think that through having so many different aspects to our business, we’ve collectively under one roof done a really good job of offering multiple avenues for the average person in our community,” Jessica said. “When people ask why I do what I do and why here, the why always comes back to, I’m using my God-given talent to pursue those passions and be part of something larger than making food.”
