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One Pepper Grower's Story 
Story and Photos by Melanie Yunk On any Saturday during the summer, you'll find Dave Winsberg at the San Francisco Farmers' Market, teaching shoppers about the variety of sweet and hot peppers and other vegetables he grows at Happy Quail Farms in East Palo Alto, California. During the peak of their harvest in July and August, lucky shoppers will find chiles of every color in Dave's market stall. Dave Winsberg The farm is definitely a family affair, with Dave's wife Karin and their sons Andreas and Felipe helping out in the fields and selling on weekends at the farmers' market. They grow and sell more than 20 varieties of sweet peppers--yellow, red, purple, white, chocolate ('Hershey') and 'Dutch' (so named because the Dutch are famous for colored bell peppers), ranging in heat from very mild to quite spicy. They grow these peppers on a two-acre farm--spread over four back yards--behind a shopping center occupied by Home Depot and Circuit City. The farm has survived gentrification and rapid development nearby, preserving a small piece of rural character in an urban setting. The farm's 28,000-square-foot greenhouse, located behind the Winsbergs' home, is extraordinarily high-tech, allowing the roof and sides of the building to open and close. Humidity and heat are monitored by computer, and the building's openings are adjusted to prevent freezing or burning of the chile plants. Dave Winsberg grew up on his parents' bell pepper farm in south Florida. In 1980, he traveled to California with the intention of duplicating their Florida operation. There he found a piece of affordable land with abandoned greenhouses that had formerly housed carnations. He leased the land and started farming, but soon found the bell pepper seedlings wouldn't grow in the Northern California climate. So he grew tomatoes and herbs while seedlings were raised in south Florida and then sent to him in the spring. Eventually, the Central Valley undercut his prices on tomatoes and herbs, so he began to only grow crops that were not as easily attained in California. Thus, the pepper farm was born! (The farm's name comes from the quail he raised to sell their eggs to sushi bars, local consumers and high-end restaurants.) Some of their more unusual varieties, like the hard-to-find pimientos de padron chiles are sold to restaurants like Cesar in Berkeley, El Farol and El Meson in Santa Fe, Mosaico in Miami, Solara in Minneapolis, and Lure Fish Bar in New York City. These chiles are popular in Spain, where they are stir-fried whole. Author Calvin Trillin, in his book Feeding a Yen, bragged about eating 700 of these tasty chiles while visiting Spain one summer. Winsberg fondly recalls the day the author came by his booth at the Farmer's Market in San Francisco and bought fresh padrons. It is Happy Farms' small size, specialization and adaptability that have allowed this pepper farmer to survive. Winsberg wisely decided to grow specialty chiles for chefs; for example, the chef from Doux Long des Landes found seeds for Basque fryers and asked Winsberg to grow them. He still grows these chiles and sells them other restaurants. Chef Stuart Brioza at San Francisco's famous restaurant Rubicon uses Happy Quail's Hungarian sweet peppers for an extremely elegant version of stuffed peppers. He uses duck confit, herbs and toasted pumpkin seeds for filling and tops the peppers with a cumin creme fraiche. If you're visiting Northern California, you can visit the Winsbergs at the San Francisco Farmer's Market and pick up some of their chiles. If you do, use them for this simple Spanish snack. Jamon Serrano con Pimientos de Padron This recipe comes from Chef Maggie Pond at Cesar, a Mediterranean cafe and bar that shares a wall with the famous Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. They serve Spanish food, tapas style with unusual and hard-to-find ingredients, and their award-winning menu changes weekly. 12 Pimientos de Padron from Happy Quail Farms Olive oil Sea salt 4 slices Serrano ham In a large skillet, lightly saute the chiles in olive oil until they are blistered and softened. Toss with salt to taste. Put 3 chiles and a slice of Serrano ham on each of 4 plates and serve immediately. Yield: 4 tapas servings Heat Scale: Medium Top of Page
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