Future Foods Farms

Chef Adam Navidi, a leader in Southern California’s sustainable food movement, had an interesting idea: Grow his own produce on a 25-acre farm in Brea, about 30 miles/48 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles, to bring fresh, local food to his catered events. And so began Future Foods Farms. Chef Navidi’s massive, all-organic aquaponic greenhouse is a symbiotic relationship of aquaculture (used to raise fish) and hydroponics (growing plants in water without soil). During Navidi’s weekly tours and tastings (6 p.m. and 7 p.m., Saturdays in September), guests are treated to drinks and hors d’oeuvres while touring the new-wave farm and learning about Navidi’s food philosophies. Family-style tables are arranged in the greenhouse amongst the crops, and the celebrated chef—who has cooked for the likes of Jack Nicholson and Andre Agassi—creates multi-course feasts based on what’s in season. For an offsite alternative, check the farm’s website for dates for Chef Navidi’s pop-up restaurant, Oceans & Earth, on the farm grounds.