Daniel Orr Earth Eats

Daniel Orr is the creator and host of Earth Eats. As chef/owner of FARMbloomington, Orr draws from a lifelong curiosity about individual ingredients combined with extensive training in the art of finding food’s true essence and flavor. The result is simple, yet sophisticated; the best of American food tempered by classic European training. He calls his cuisine “real food for real people.” He is dedicated to producing these wonderful dishes with local ingredients and in as green an environment as possible.

Orr gathers his ingredients from local farmers, foragers and from his own gardens. He composts all this green waste back to the farm where he grows his own crops. FARMbloomington has created recycling programs and other sustainable projects such as finding uses for spent oil and other “waste” usually sent to landfill. Chef Daniel wants to share this voyage through a beautiful sea of Midwestern green. The trip has its muddy parts as well as clear sailing. You’ll definitely enjoy the trip and practically feel the earth under your fingernails.

Daniel spent his childhood in Columbus, Indiana, where his parents were serious food lovers. His first summer job in the town’s only fine dining restaurant further fueled his interest and eventually led him to Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in restaurant management, he headed abroad where he worked at some of the top restaurants in France.

Upon returning home in 1992, Orr settled in at New York’s famed French restaurant, La Grenouille. In 1997, as the executive chef at age 34, he earned a three-star review from the New York Times. That same year, Orr published his first cookbook, Daniel Orr: Real Food (Rizzoli); a collection of recipes for everyday meals, as well as menus for sophisticated entertaining. He also created Kitchen D’Orr, a line of ten spice blends perfected in his own kitchen.

In 1999, Sir Terence Conran asked Orr to become the executive chef of his first U.S. restaurant: Guastavino’s in New York City. Here Orr was able to experiment and blend all of his training to create menus that defined his signature style. In 2004 he was invited to become the executive chef of the CuisinArt Resort & Spa in Anguilla BWI, where he created a healthy cuisine that was a perfect match for the beauty of Anguilla beaches.

FARMbloomington is the first Orr-owned establishment. This multi-faceted culinary complex consists of a restaurant, market, bar, and music venue. The menu focus is on local fresh ingredients and the fusion of island cuisine and Midwest American cooking. It is the culmination of chef Orr’s entire culinary career, from his parents’ kitchen in Columbus, to the CuisinArt Resort & Spa in Anguilla.

www.farmbloomington.com