National Culinary Arts Month Restaurant Spotlight: Clover
Since July is National Culinary Arts Month, we sat down with Mary Shillue-Goldberg, the Catering Director at our restaurant partner, Clover. Mary gave us a special behind-the-scenes look at how Clover came to life and what inspires her and her culinary team to create such an innovative, unique, and delicious menu.
Sharebite & Clover's Candid Q&A
Q: Can you tell me how Clover Food Lab came to life?
A: Clover began as a tiny white food truck parked on the MIT campus in 2008. The idea was to create vegetarian food that meat-eaters would crave and choose over meat. Reducing meat consumption is one of the most impactful ways to combat climate change, but no one wants a lecture. We started with one sandwich - the chickpea fritter. We interviewed customers that first day and made changes based on what they said. That's how we built our entire menu, with honest feedback from customers. Now we have 13 restaurants, a meal box program, and a catering program.
Q: What inspires you to continue to develop your menu with new and exciting offerings?
A: Over the years the culinary team at Clover has forged deep relationships with local farmers, and their incredible produce inspires us. A bumper crop of sweet potatoes from one of our partners, Next Barn Over in Hadley, MA led us to create the Japanese sweet potato sandwich, a seasonal item eagerly awaited by ardent fans. Those 9,000 pounds of sweet potatoes now result in us buying 60,000 pounds from local farmers. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you start with what the farmer has, and go from there.
Q: What kind of programming does Clover engage in to embody culinary arts?
A: This past fall we were invited by the MIT Museum to give a talk for their five senses program. We decided to talk about taste, and how ingredients contribute to 'the perfect hummus.' Our kitchen made batches of hummus, but intentionally left out one key ingredient in each batch: garlic, salt, lemon juice, or tahini. Then guests had to guess what was missing. It was really fun and well-received so we have taken it on the road to some of our corporate catering customers.
Q: Since Clover Food Lab started its partnership with Sharebite, what are some of the positive impacts that you've experienced?
A: As a mission-driven organization we appreciate giving back with Sharebite. The one meal purchased, one donated aspect of Sharebite was a key reason we joined. And we love the idea of more and more people eating Clover, so we're honored that Sharebite can help facilitate bigger groups eating with us with ease.
Q: If someone came to your restaurant for the first time, what would you recommend they order, and why?
A: We'd recommend a chickpea fritter sandwich, french fries with rosemary, and a seasonal cold drink. Our chickpea fritter sandwich is our version of falafel. Our silky hummus and crispy falafel can't be beat, drizzled with our tahini, complemented by crunchy pickled vegetables, tucked into our organic pita baked from scratch daily in Cambridge MA. Right now we have local blueberries from Red Fire Farm, which we're making into blueberry lemonade. So good.
Q: What would you like your customers to experience while dining with you?
A: People think they don't like a certain veggie, and then they come to us and find out that they do actually like that veggie! When you get really good veggies from local farms, and treat them with respect, you can create big, beautiful flavors that you start dreaming about.
Ready for a culinary art experience?
After our interview, we couldn't stop thinking about all those innovative, unique, and delicious veggies. Are you happening to crave that chickpea fritter sandwich, too? We definitely are!
If you happen to be in the Boston area, stopping by one Clover's 13 restaurants is a must. You may never think about farm fresh veggies the same again!