“We loved the unique view of a chef-turned-farmer and the things Patty did to stay in business as the economy shifted.”
Best Short + Audience Award, Ag & Art Film Festival
“I really appreciated your openness and honesty to tell the truth about your experience. You have a really beautiful way of articulating your experience in the moment… What I loved about the film is Roger was really good about being honest and taking a critical look at being a small scale farmer. And he didn’t romanticize it.”
Clara Coleman, The Winter Growers Podcast, special guest Patty Gentry, CLICK TO LISTEN
The Soul of A Farmer follows Patty Gentry, a former chef, as she battles to earn a living on her three acre Early Girl Farm on Long Island. Isabella Rossellini, from whom Patty rents her land tells us, “Patty is the Picasso of vegetables!”
The 35 minute documentary upends the romance of farm-to-table. Buying fresh produce directly from farmers markets and at farm stands is wonderful. But the farmer’s life is a constant struggle. We watch Patty work her butt off (with her small, mostly female team) seven days a week, growing the vegetables her top chef clients treasure.
Patty’s passion is to constantly improve her soil, increase her yield of organic vegetables, and just as urgently scramble to stay afloat.
Also featured
Isabella Rossellini, actor/activist, daughter of Ingrid Bergman, owns the land Patty rents in Brookhaven, Long Island: she saved 18 acres from development.
Missy Robbins, chef/restaurateur, Lilia and Misi in Brooklyn. Best Chef NYC James Beard Foundation. All in Brooklyn.
Chef-of-the-Year Esquire.
Andrew Tarlow, restaurateur, Roman’s, Diner, Marlow & Sons, Reynard, Achilles Heel.
“The restaurateur who invented Brooklyn,” Bon Appetit.
Anita Lo, Anisa, Michelin star, NY Times three stars in Greenwich Village. Iron Chef winner, she beat Mario Batali. Manhattan.
Sohui Kim, Insa, Gage & Tollner, The Good Fork. Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list five years running, “Essential Eater 38” list three years in a row, all in Brooklyn.
Mary Attea, chef, The Musket Room, Michelin star, former executive chef at Anissa, Manhattan.
Jennifer Lasker, Patty’s partner, now wife.
All photos are cleared for publication.
Please credit Florentine Films
RESOURCES
BOOKS, MAGAZINES, PODCASTS PATTY RECOMMENDS
The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman
The Living Soil Handbook: The No-Till Grower’s Guide To Ecological Market Gardening by Jesse Frost
The Lean Farm by Ben Hartman
Growing for Market Magazine enter code “winter” at checkout to get 25% off a new subscription
Johnny’s Seeds Growers Library Patty relies on Johnny’s, loves the chat/question possibilities
Winter Growers podcast with Clara Coleman of Four Season Farm, daughter of renowned farming pioneer Eliot Coleman
MAJOR INFLUENCERS
Dan Kittredge, The Bio Nutrient Institute, Patty credits Dan as the most important person in her farming life
Conor Crickmore Neversink Farm, workshops, custom tools which Patty loves, dinners. Said to be one of the highest production farms per square foot in the country.
Four Season Farm Consulting, Clara Coleman has consulted with many sustainable agriculture organizations and clients including Wegmans Food Markets, Maine Farmland Trust, Apricot Lane Farms, Beetlebung Farm, and Johnny’s Selected Seeds. She also conceptualized the ARC Farm model – an innovative & collaborative four-season farm model for young farmers
CONSERVATION
Peconic Land Trust, Conserving Long Island’s working farms, natural lands, and heritage for our communities now and in the future.
The Post-Morrow Foundation, Their mission is to preserve and conserve the rural, cultural and historical character of the hamlet of Brookhaven, where Early Girl Farm is located and where Patty lives, and surrounding areas in Suffolk County, New York.