The "Leckerwissen" project
How the FiBL kitchen brings organic stories to life
The FiBL restaurant uses organic produce in 97 per cent of its dishes, including some unusual ingredients from FiBL projects. (Photo: FiBL, Thomas Alföldi)
What we eat can be about more than just taste. This is precisely what is on display at the FiBL restaurant in Frick: through the "Leckerwissen" project, the kitchen team brings produce from regional organic farms and FiBL projects to the table – allowing restaurant guests to experience its origins, the people behind it and the principles of organic farming.
At the same time, practical knowledge is generated on how other catering businesses can strengthen sustainable value chains and successfully utilise innovative products.
Contact
- Milena Burri, planning
- Sibylle Finsterwald, implementation
- Phie Thanner, communikations
Vegetables from the MBF Foundation's farm
The vegetables on today's menu come from the MBF Foundation's farm in Frick. There, more than 70 varieties of vegetables and herbs are grown year-round on about 1 hectare of open-air land and in four unheated polytunnels. The vegetables are Bio Suisse-certified (Bio Suisse = the umbrella organisation for Swiss organic farmers) and are grown and sold with the help of staff from the sheltered workplace. This dish thus combines regional organic food with meaningful work, participation and social commitment.
The MBF Foundation is a private-law social enterprise in the Fricktal region. It supports people in need of assistance in the areas of housing, school, education, work and vocational integration. The aim is to facilitate personal development, self-determination and participation in everyday life.
The Feldhof is more than just a vegetable farm. On the one hand, the team produces seasonal organic vegetables year-round in open fields and polytunnels, selling them directly at the farm shop and on Wednesdays at the weekly market in Rheinfelden (Switzerland). On the other hand, Feldhof offers professional garden maintenance and horticulture services. The team carries out minor garden alterations, plants and maintains public green spaces, industrial sites, residential developments and private gardens. Both areas of activity create meaningful jobs for people requiring support.
Further information
Link
mbf.ch: Information about the farm shop and the weekly market
FiBL project to promote organic chicory cultivation in Switzerland
Ludek Mica in the forcing house, where the chichory roots are grown in dark, damp and temperature-controlled halls after harvesting. (Photo: FiBL, Carlo Gamper Cardinali)
This chicory comes from a current FiBL research project. The aim is to support Swiss organic producers in obtaining more high-quality organic chicory from healthy roots through better-adapted cultivation and forcing strategies. This dish thus combines culinary enjoyment with practical research aimed at strengthening regional organic production.
Chicory is a very high-quality food containing valuable bitter compounds and dietary fibre. What appears on the plate as a tender, pale head has a long history. It begins in the field, where the chicory roots first grow. After harvesting, these are forced in dark, damp and temperature-controlled halls – known as forcing houses. The darkness prevents the formation of chlorophyll, ensuring the heads remain light in colour and tender.
Organic chicory cultivation is demanding. Whether beautiful, compact and healthy heads develop in the forcing house depends heavily on the quality of the roots. A balanced supply of nutrients is particularly crucial for this; the correct fertilisation strategy in the field is therefore a key factor in determining the subsequent quality. Optimal fertilisation strategies have already been investigated by FiBL in a completed project and form an important basis for the further development of cultivation.
The current FiBL project also focuses on the processes in the forcing house. The aim there is to keep water, crates and growing conditions as clean as possible and to minimise plant diseases. This should further improve root health and head quality.
Around 640 tonnes of organic chicory are produced in Switzerland each year, with a further 500 tonnes imported. This shows that there is great potential for Swiss organic chicory. An important aim of the FiBL projects is to reduce losses and food waste. This is because if the heads remain too small or do not meet the required quality standards, they are often unsuitable for sale – even though a great deal of labour, land and resources have gone into them.
Further information
Contact
Link
fibl.org: The project in the FiBL project database
Pork from the FiBL farm
The meat comes from pigs from the FiBL farm and the FiBL project "Unser Hausschwein". The animals were bred by FiBL pig expert Anna Jenni as part of the project and subsequently reared outdoors on the FiBL farm by farmer Pascal Nägele.
The aim of the "Unser Hausschwein" breeding project is to breed robust, healthy and undemanding pigs that are adapted to conditions in Switzerland and meet the requirements of extensive organic pig farming.
The pigs should
- be a good feed converter and undemanding,
- be in good health and robust,
- be suitable for free-range rearing, i.e. with a good foundation, meaning a sturdy build with strong legs, furthermore, its coat and colour should protect against the cold and sunburn,
- produce high-quality meat,
- have no more than 10 piglets per litter (the average in Switzerland is 13 piglets), as this helps the piglets to be stronger and reduces the strain on the sows.
Extensive organic pig farming includes free-range rearing. Outdoor rearing offers the pigs plenty of space to run about, fresh air and the opportunity to express their natural behaviours such as rooting and exploring. As pigs cannot sweat, they must also be provided with a way to cool down in high temperatures. At the FiBL farm, they have been given a spacious mud puddle to cool down.
Further information
Contact
Links
- unserhausschwein.ch: Website of the "Unser Hausschwein" project (in German)
- fibl.org: FiBL farm