Buying Local

Over the past year the Food and Beverage Department has been working to find quality vendors who supply local produce and goods.  When I came back to Osprey last year, I knew if we were going to have success we needed to move away from companies like Sysco and U.S. Foods.  We spent a lot of time visiting vendors’ warehouses, talking with their buyers and really trying to understand their motives.  Below you will find a couple of pictures from a farm in Macclenny Florida, which is located just southwest of Jacksonville off of interstate 10 on the way to the Osceola National Forest.  Each week I talk at length with my produce supplier, Jere, to find the freshest and highest quality in season fruits and vegetables.  He sends me pictures from the farms, along with weather updates and growing trends.  Together we are able to decide what is tasting the best and traveling the shortest distance to your plate when you eat here in the Clubhouse at Osprey Cove.  

-Bill Shaffer, Executive Chef