Matt Romero spent many years as an executive chef before giving it up to start farming eight years ago. He started by caretaking a ten-acre farm before getting access to his uncle's 3-acre tract, a tractor and tools. His first farmer's market was Los Alamos and he says he was a 'very small vendor" there, but he didn't stay small. Matt got some family members and friends to 'lend' him their fallow tracts - 4 ½ acres in Dixon and two 3-acre parcels in Alcalde. In return for the loan Matt farms the land, improves it and keeps it productive. Matt is now one of the largest vegetable vendors at the Santa Fe and Los Alamos markets.
Matt raises chili, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, cabbages, herbs and many other types of produce on his small farms. He is very concerned about providing a top-quality product to the consumers. From his chef days, "I know what the high-end crowd prefers when they go out to eat", he says. Flavor is the number one concern. People are interested in specialty produce picked at its peak stage, with super high quality and freshness. The varieties Matt grows are not the supermarket varieties designed to be picked 'green' and shipped long distances without bruising, but the older, more 'fragile' varieties that still have that intense, old-fashioned flavor.
"Our whole system of supplying food is wrong", says Matt. He invites people to visit his farms and see real food growing in real circumstances, without chemical sprays, with all the little flaws naturally-growing food picks up. Matt feels it is important to keep the small farms alive; children can experience what fresh food really is. "We practice sustainable agriculture [on our farms]", says Matt. "It's important for people to know how we grow food and why we do it."
Matt sells all kinds of produce at the Los Alamos market, including many bushels of green chili, which he roasts right at the market. He likes the fact that the Los Alamos market is supported almost entirely by locals, with very few tourists or customers from other towns. The customers really consider the farmer's market 'theirs' and support all the vendors with their purchases. Matt, who is President of a nonprofit organization supporting the Santa Fe Farmers' Market and was highly instrumental in getting the new $4.5 million dollar Santa Fe Farmers' Market going, would like to see Los Alamos provide a 'home' for their own market. But whether he has to set up his booth in a fancy building or a rainy, windy parking lot, Matt intends to keep doing what he is doing. "The best part is the independence", he says. "I get to make my own decisions to influence my own life. I can do that on a farm. I no longer watch the clock." He adds, "Being on the farm is liberating. Every day is exciting!" The only hard part is not being able to take any vacations with his family in the growing season because he is so busy. "I had to give up fishing", says Matt. "In the winter, the water is a little hard for fishing."
You can contact Matt at (505) 929-0160.