Ken Rose knows the benefits of a culinary garden. 

For 25 years, Rose has been the owner of Tiburon, a restaurant that sits close to the Sandy-Midvale cities’ border. The fine dining establishment sits unassumingly in a former fruit stand, offering a “crazy popular” dish he created, a charbroiled New Zealand elk tenderloin with creamy mushroom duxelles and green peppercorn demi-glace.

Rose opened Sandy’s Epic and South Jordan’s Wild Rose restaurants with other owners, who eventually took them over. He and his son, Ryan, own The Beurre & Emulsions, selling Tiburon’s signature house butter featuring roasted red bell peppers, white balsamic vinegar and honey as well as its signature house dressing, basil and dark balsamic vinegar emulsion— basically, “a creamy vinaigrette,” Rose described in layman’s terms. They also are experimenting with other butters to add to their offerings at the weekly Sandy Farmer’s Market.

He opened and is operating Hoof and Vine in Sandy’s Union Heights neighborhood with his son, Eric, who also uses fresh garden produce at the restaurant. 

“One of the most significant benefits is the availability of fresher and higher quality ingredients,” Rose said. “Having our own garden ensures the food we serve is as fresh and flavorful as it gets.”

That’s because his staff has the ingredients growing only feet from their kitchen.

“By doing this, our vegetables retain their strong flavors and don’t lose flavors over time by sitting on a shelf,” he said. “Everything is served at its peak ripeness, which enhances its flavor and nutritional value. I have incredible tomatoes and herbs and as a chef, to be able to just walk out and pick tomatoes and make a sauce, there’s nothing like it.”

Rose supports the farm-to-table approach, knowing where his ingredients come from and having some available, not worrying about national shortages.

“I’m a big supporter of locally grown food,” he said. “Plus, we’re able to create some unique flavors and dishes during the growing season when we have the vegetables and herbs right here.”

Every summer, Tiburon serves caprese salad.

“It’s incredible because the fresh tomatoes and the basil are amazing. We always run a couple of specials like a fresh fish with some type of a tomato herb sauce, with fresh produce, just right out of the garden. We’re able to pick the tomatoes that day,” Rose said.

He already has been serving squash from the garden.

“We have more squash this year than ever before. We always pick the squash when they’re babies, about three inches as opposed to letting them grow big. They have a little different texture to them when they’re babies. We leave the flower on top, put a little olive oil and a little salt, pepper, a tiny bit of garlic on and then we grill. They’re super delicious because they haven’t gone to seed yet,” Rose said.

The restaurant uses mint in many of their dishes.

“We make homemade mint-infused lemonade all year long, but we’re able to go pick mint right outside our door. We get mint closer to seven months out of the year instead of three or four months, depending on the growing season. Mint grows like crazy, and basil and chives are products I use on my regular menu constantly,” he said, adding he has contemplated building a greenhouse for year-round fresh produce. 

Rose began using fresh products about 20 years ago when one of his former employees suggested planting tomatoes in the dirt behind the restaurant.

“I was like, ‘great, let’s plant some tomatoes.’ So, he tilled out a spot and we grew tomatoes for a couple years. We realized what a great thing it was and we needed to expand it. Now, we have a full-blown watering system out there in our quarter acre. We try to keep it as natural as possible, and it’s become a collective team effort from everybody in the kitchen,” he said.

While many say having a garden is a cost savings, Rose said in his experience, it’s not.

“At the end of the day, I’m not really saving any money, but we do serve an absolutely better-quality product,” he said.

Farm-to-table supporters say it reduces the carbon footprint by eliminating or minimizing reliance on externally sourced ingredients, which reduces transportation costs and associated emissions. It cuts down on the packaging which store-bought produce comes in, meaning less waste filling local landfills.

There also is a more loyal following of environmentally conscientious patrons. According to Forbes, studies show a universal willingness among consumers to invest more in dining experiences at “green restaurants” engaged in environmental protection with an 88% increase in customer loyalty.

A culinary garden provides educational opportunities for Rose’s staff and customers alike. It encourages a deeper understanding of the food production process as chefs plan recipes around seasonal ingredients harvested straight from the garden to ensure optimal freshness, flavor and sustainability. It offers an educational platform to highlight the stories of homegrown produce for their customers.

Rose, who entered the restaurant business on his 16th birthday as a dishwasher and worked his way up, also has learned about the benefits of the garden along the way. 

When he first heard about the “cheap plants” offered through Canyons School District’s plant sale, he decided to check it out.

Each spring, Entrada botany instructor David Dau has about 3,500 seedlings—mostly tomatoes, peppers and herbs—in his basement. He shares those with Canyons’ adult high school botany students, who take care of them. It fulfills their science credits toward high school diplomas.

About 75% of those starts he donates to nonprofit organizations to hold plant sales as a way they can make money for their programs.

“As a former school principal, I am sensitive to the challenges that many groups of disadvantaged people face on a daily basis—special education students, immigrants and refugees, those in poverty,” he said. “This is my way of giving back. I think what (Jordan Valley Principal) Stacey Nofsinger and Ken Rose are doing is extraordinary. I think that the staff of Jordan Valley (is) doing honorable and courageous work (and) Ken Rose has been extremely generous.”

Finding success from those initial starts, Rose emailed Dau, and said the next year, he wanted to buy 400 plants, including 18 different kinds of heirloom tomatoes, five different kinds of squash, an assortment of herbs with eight 10-gallon grow bags of mint.

Dau had just worked out a partnership with Jordan Valley School, where his son, Caleb, works; he would give the school starts so the students with severe disabilities could benefit from both working with the plants and the profit from plant sales. So, he referred Rose to Nofsinger.

It was Rose’s first introduction to the school.

“I was like, ‘tell me more about your program.’ I didn’t know anything about it and as I learned, I realized, ‘this is so cool,’” he said.

He learned Dau brings over the materials, so Jordan Valley students help with planting some seeds and taking care of the plants. Then, during the plant sale, secondary students fill the 100-plus drive-thru orders alongside staff members.

“The last two years, I’ve bought my plants from them and always will going forward,” Rose said. “They offer a great product, but seriously, they’re the best. The kids are loving being a part of it, having this purpose, and the staff loves what they do. They’re passionate about it. So, whatever I can do to support something like that, it’s the right thing.”

Nofsinger remembers their first meeting.

“When he first came by to pick up his starts, I explained Jordan Valley’s purpose and mission,” Nofsinger said. “He just looked at me with these most tender eyes and said, ‘I am so glad I’m supporting you and I’m all about supporting schools, we’ll be back next year.’ Now, he’s giving us a check because he likes what we do here.”

Rose gave Jordan Valley $1,500—more than the cost of the starts, priced at six plants for $5. His contribution as well as other sales, which totaled $3,500 this year, go toward school activities such as dances designed for the medically fragile, sensory needs and scavenger hunts focused on math skills or letter identification. The funds also helped purchase school T-shirts for every student and indoor recess games.

“It’s wonderful this business is supporting our students with their goals of learning and becoming productive citizens in their community,” Nofsinger said. “We shared some pictures with Ken of these kids who helped with the plantings, and he was all excited; he shared them on his Tiburon social media posts. He just has a love for our students.”

Nofsinger also acknowledges Dau’s contribution: “Dave is donating his time and plants and is very humble. Our sale is successful because of Dave’s knowledge and service. He says, ‘When you do good things and put it out into the world, it’s good.’ This is one of those stories.” λ