For Mariano Stellner, corporate director of F&B for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Americas, the effort to buy local permeates all aspects of food and beverage service. “It’s not just a matter of looking at who is close by,” he says, “it is much more a vision of how we can do business better, by staying closer to where we consume the foods and by thinking about our carbon footprint.”

It’s not uncommon for chefs to buy close to home whenever possible. Locally sourced foods are typically fresher, more authentically regional, and sometimes even less expensive. As Stellner suggests, though, more and bigger factors come into play. As consumer interest in local sourcing has grown, along with concerns about environmental impact and food safety, many hotels are responding by increasing their focus on local ingredients.

Three in 10 adults say they purchase local fruits and vegetables once a week or more, according to a recent survey by research firm Mintel. Approximately one in four buy local baked goods, meats, or cheese/dairy products once a week or more.

These consumers are driven not just by health concerns but by an interest in connecting with nature’s bounty and availing themselves of artisan products in their own locales. They are additionally motivated to support small farms and producers, perhaps because these establishments typically offer (or enjoy the perception of offering) organically grown produce as well as better treatment of animals. Consumers are also more savvy about the culinary advantages of ultra-fresh food while reducing the transportation footprint.

Taken together, these concerns have Stellner putting new emphasis on Fairmont’s longtime commitment to ethical and environmentally sound sourcing, including a vigorous effort to buy local. “Fairmont has long been in a leadership position looking at organic, green lifestyle cuisines—all those issues of sustainability,” he says. “We asked our chefs years ago to get very familiar and entrenched with the local communities, to forge relationships with the vendors, to include local and, whenever possible, organic and sustainably farmed ingredients.”

In practical terms, this translates into a number of specific policies. Chefs must offer organic eggs, for example, and some portion of the menu should be organic. Hotels should partner with watch organizations to identify and procure sustainable seafood. Coffee should come from sustainable farms. Wines should be organic or biodynamic.

GOING LOCAL IN BEANTOWN
At Boston’s Fairmont Copley Plaza, Executive Chef Laurent Poulain considers himself lucky. In his quest to prepare and serve foods harvested in the immediate region, he finds a bountiful variety at his doorstep. “There is a farmers’ market right across from the hotel, and we buy for the restaurant right there,” he says. “I can get beef from Maine that is all-natural, and the list of local seafood goes on and on: scallops, cod, haddock, oysters, lobsters.”

Poulain estimates 60 percent of food in the hotel’s restaurant, the Oak Room, originates from local ingredients, and he dismisses the notion that such choices must bite into his bottom line. When local asparagus is in season for example, it costs no more, and often less, than produce flown in from South America or other regions.

As Stellner points out, “One of the benefits of dealing with local ingredients is that, while it may be slightly more costly up front, it also has a longer shelf life because it is so fresh, and because you buy so frequently, you will not over-procure. All those factors will play a role in the true cost.”

SHARED VALUES
Poulain is able to access a steady supply of local ingredients thanks to a network of area farmers, a network he has cultivated over the years through the sharing of fundamental values. “It is about mutual respect,” he explains. “They know how much I care about using local farms and how much I want the planet to be better, and these local farmers have the same philosophy.”

While respecting the local cycles, Poulain also taps into the region’s farm system on an as-needed basis. Through his small-farm contacts, “we will reserve an animal, they will grow it for us, and we can build a special [menu] on something that was raised just for us. We have done that with beef, chicken, lamb, and even vegetables,” he says.

NOT ALWAYS EASY
Local sourcing is not without its challenges. An ever-changing ingredient list means an ever-changing menu. “The biggest challenge for a chef is that it is more work,” Poulain says. “You have to take your pen every week and write something new. But seasonal items are usually in season for two to three months at a time, and I have a 12-month calendar on my desk that tells me 90 percent of what is going to be in season at any given time.”

Another challenge is that sometimes a banquet will outstrip the capacity of local producers, or an unusual cut of meat will be unavailable in quantity. “When it is a little more than a farmer can handle, I use a big food and produce company that has its own local farms,” Poulain says. “Every week they e-mail me with what is available, and I can work that list into my menus.”

CULINARY ADVOCACY
Poulain’s situation is not an isolated example. Throughout the Fairmont chain, chefs are encouraged to access and experiment with local ingredients. Many go a step further, participating in the local culinary community as advocates of local sourcing and other back-to-basics kitchen philosophies. “Some chefs are on advisory boards related to food and beverage,” Stellner says. “Some may be members of their local slow food association. Some participate in farmers’ markets, both as organizers and to meet new vendors. Some are guest speakers on these topics.”

Ultimately, Fairmont asserts its commitment to local sourcing is not a political stance, an environmental statement, or even a business proposition. It’s all about the food. “What you as a chef do with something that just came out of the ground, versus something plucked a week ago, is just a totally different experience,” Stellner says. “It allows me to refocus on what food is all about.”

Based in Annapolis, Maryland, freelance writer Adam Stone covers hospitality, technology, healthcare, and economic development.