The Butcher and The Baker
Farm to Table and Back Again
A community effort helps build a dream... on nurtured ground
The Butcher & The Baker is owned and operated by Megan Ossola, a Telluride local since 1996. Working as a private chef for years and possessing a wealth of restaurant experience, she opened the restaurant in 2009. This bakery and café specializes in fresh handmade breads and pastries and a menu that showcases local produce, locally sourced meats, cheeses, eggs and milk. She credits her grandfather, a farmer from Illinois, for instilling in her a dedication to using fresh organic ingredients.
Her dream of executing a truly direct farm-to-table concept took on new dimensions, when in 2018 the Ossola family bought 13-acre farm 59 miles away in Montrose, Colorado. The property came with an historic abandoned 1800s farmhouse, a 100-year old heirloom orchard, and depleted soil that had cultivated corn for the previous 20 years. As they began work to restore the home, they also instituted a plan to rebuild the land itself—with a project that had the potential to involve the entire town.
Turn your Spoil into Soil
Because of bear activity, it’s not possible to compost within the town of Telluride. So, in 2019, with a Telluride Green Grant, the Ossolas purchased a locked and lifting trailer, and created an opportunity for the community to participate in this full-circle recycling effort. For a small investment they are making a big impact, turning waste into a solution. Currently, the trailer delivers 3 cubic yards of food waste weekly to the farm—that’s a lot of material diverted from the landfill being put to good use.
The air-breathing organisms that break down the compost pile need oxygen to survive, and just enough moisture to thrive. So, the pile is covered, turned regularly, and watered periodically. They immediately discovered that the trailer has an undersized hydraulic lift for the weight it carries, so a tractor is now used to assist with the initial lift. Certainly, the project is not without its challenges, but Ossola happily reports that it’s been extremely rewarding. The composting trailer, located in the parking lot behind the restaurant at 201 E. Colorado Ave., asks contributors to follow a simple set of rules: No Meat. No Dairy. No Citrus. No Paper Products (even if they say they are compostable). Yard waste is welcome, and they ask that you make sure donations are free of stickers and rubber bands. Finally, be sure to latch and lock the trailer before you leave! For the most part the community has been compliant, although the occasional plastic baggie or inappropriate item does require some sorting upon delivery.
Reeping Rewards
So far, the farm has enjoyed a bumper crop of hemp,
yielded bushels of apples, pears and apricots, and a new 3,000 sq. ft. greenhouse houses microgreens and herbs.
As the arable land increases and improves at the farm, Ryan Ossola and Big Mountain Farms look forward to keeping the restaurant in fresh produce for years to come. They’ve designated the farm compound to the National List of Historic Places. The dream is for it to someday become a destination where diners can enjoy a gourmet “at-the-farm” to-table experience!