Little Frenchie, a restaurant located at 116 Orange Ave., is dedicated to producing high-quality food with an authentic French foundation.
And local produce is integral to Little Frenchie’s mission, rooting the kitchen’s imported French products in San Diego soil.
Fermin Tinamisan, Little Frenchie’s chef de cuisine, said “produce is at its best when it’s local.”
This belief led him on a hunt for the best locally sourced lettuce he could find.
Connection with vermiponic farm
Tinamisan spent weeks cycling through different lettuces until he connected with Ruth Jordan, the founder of Paradise Found, a vermiponic farm in Bonita.
After trying Jordan’s product and visiting her farm, Tinamisan was ready to make the switch.
He was not only drawn to the lettuce, but also to Jordan’s commitment to “trying to promote agriculture and urban farming.”
Jordan maximizes her farmland in Bonita by using vertical vermiponic systems, which harness the power of worms to produce a nutrient-rich “tea” from organic waste.
In turn, the tea nourishes plants as they grow. Vermiponics works to simultaneously enhance produce quality while acting as a regenerative medium for plant growth.
Greens a hit at Little Frenchie’s
The greens grown at Jordan’s farm were a hit as soon as they reached Little Frenchie’s tables. During the Paradise Found trial week, Tinamisan realized that “customers were enjoying the lettuce.”
Since switching to Paradise Found lettuce, customers appear to be eating more of the leafy greens on their plates than they ever did before.
“Lettuce is pretty big for us,” Tinamisan said. “It’s pretty much on all of our menu items.”
Little Frenchie’s relationship with locally grown lettuce is emblematic of the restaurant’s values.
At Little Frenchie, we’re really dedicated to giving the best food and hospitality we can.”
-Fermin Tinamisan, Little Frenchie’s chef de cuisine
“At Little Frenchie, we’re really dedicated to giving the best food and hospitality we can. That’s really our main goal,” said Tinamisan.
