Last week, chef Mario Batali signed on for a summer share of veggies at Meadowlark Farm, savored the last of Bardenhagen strawberries straight from the field, and bumped along in a Chevy Suburban with Don and Ann Gregory through their cherry orchard. “I wanted to meet the people who grow the food we eat when we’re here,” said Mario, who spends a good part of the summer in Leelanau with his family. “I’ve always loved the landscapes from which this food comes and wanted to learn more about the people working the land,” said Mario. The chef was also scouting out what produce will be coming into season for the dinner for 12 he will host in late August. The dinner will be auctioned off at the Leelanau Conservancy’s Annual Picnic on August 6th

“I have been to enough places in the world to know that once farms are gone, they are gone forever,” added Mario. “This year, I’m directing all of the auction proceeds from my dinner to help preserve farmland, so that long after we’re gone, people will still be sitting around the table eating the great food that comes from Leelanau.”

Leelanau Conservancy Director Brian Price served as Mario’s tour guide. The first stop was Meadowlark, a Community Supported Agriculture farm near Lake Leelanau. Owners John Watts and Jenny Tutlis and their crew were soaking spring mix in large vats, and then drying the greens in a modified washing machine set on spin cycle. Boxes for shareholders were lined up under an awning and being filled with that week’s produce. Mario told Jenny “I buy anything that has your name on it at Hansen’s when I’m in town.” He was delighted to learn he could sample everything they grow by joining the CSA, where members pay an up-front fee and pick up a box of produce every week at the farm or at one of Meadowlark’s local drop sites. Mario signed up on the spot, and talked to Jenny about the possibilities of growing cardoons for next year, one of his favorite vegetables. He also made plans to come back the next day and help harvest garlic. “Just to smell the earth when it’s fresh and redolent of garlic, it’s the Mediterranean way,” said Batali.

Next stop was Horn Road and the Bardenhagen Farm. Christi Bardenhagen told Mario that her great-grandfather had homesteaded the land, and now her son, Steve, had taken over the 184-acre farm. Mario listened carefully as she explained that the transfer to the next generation would not have been possible without a sale of development rights to the Leelanau Conservancy.

“Helping Gary and Christi Bardenhagen pass this farm along to a fifth generation, while at the same time permanently preserving the source of so much of our local fruit, now that was a satisfying project,” said Price.

Christi took Mario up into the orchards where laborers were hand picking sweet cherries. The chef sampled several along the way and at one point, commented “best I’ve tasted this year.” Steve pulled up with a load of yellow cherries already soaking in brine, destined for the maraschino market. A short drive up the hill led to early glow strawberry fields, where Mario enjoyed the spectacular views and ate strawberries warmed by the afternoon sun, and exclaimed over their flavor. “I’ve already eaten about six flats of these,” he said. The harvest was officially over, but there were still plenty left to pick. “If this was close enough to my restaurant, I’d have my kitchen staff out here picking what’s left,” he said, adding that he had made gelato and sorbet this summer with the fruit.

The final stop was at the Gregory farm near Suttons Bay, where Don and his brother, Bob, sat at a picnic table with Mario and talked about the difficulties facing the cherry industry. Mario expressed surprise when he learned that this year farmers have agreed to leave a certain percentage of fruit on the ground because of supply exceeding demand. He sees as part of the solution a need for savvy marketing and pointed to both the pomegranate and cranberry industry. “Those goofy guys standing out in the cranberries (in TV commercials), that’s memorable, and the pommy product is everywhere now,” he said. “What you need is a home run, to get someone to put cherry juice in a Cosmopolitan and have Sarah Jessica Parker talk about it for three weeks, or get dried cherries into some sort of hip candy bar or something,” said Mario. He was intrigued by the fruit’s marketing challenges and talked with Don Gregory about the merits of pursuing an organic brand and the fancy apple market.

After the orchard tour, the group headed up to Gregory’s “Top of the World” spot, where Ann brought out picnic baskets filled with some of her special cherry appetizers, from a stuffed wheel of brie to dark chocolate covered dried balaton cherries. As with the other farms, Mario got a chance to sample both the joys and challenges of working farmers in northern Michigan. The common thread at all three farms was an appreciation of the knowledge and care that, coupled with the unique soils and micro-climate of Leelanau, brings forth the flavors that are so widely celebrated in kitchens across the country.

Don uncorked a bottle of chardonnay from nearby Circa winery. Mario took over pouring the wine and surveyed the sweeping view, which took in North Manitou to Charlevoix. “This has been just fantastic,” he said. Raising his glass, he proposed a toast: “To farmland.”

Steve Bardenhagen (right) talks about cherries and the maraschino market with Mario Batali (left). Brian Price, Executive Director of the Leelanau Conservancy (far left) looks on.