Fare & Just Kitchen
Five years into a vegan lifestyle, chef Peter Duff is more impassioned than ever to share his vegan, gluten-free and peanut-free menu with the public. His wife Kara Duff has been vegan for most of her life, and the pair has served falafel and veggie burgers to their two teenage sons for years. “I’m very aware of what goes on in the meat and dairy industries and am a huge animal lover; our home is always full of pets. Yet still,” says Duff, “I always ate everything.”
That is, until one family vacation at Farm Sanctuary, in Watkins Glen, NY, home to over 800 rescued farm animals. “That weekend my conversion happened like a light switch turning on, not gradual at all,” says Duff. “The goats and sheep and all the animals that were there were no different than the rabbits and dogs and cats that were part of our family at home. From that moment, in September of 2016, I completely pivoted; animal products were no longer a part of my life.”
“For me it’s personal; I don’t judge anyone else’s choices. What I deeply love is to cook and create food for other people and to see their pleasure as they enjoy it. It’s healthy food that tastes good and is good for the planet too,” says Duff. “I don’t go to rallies and carry protest signs, yet I try to help with my cuisine. Eating plant-based meals, even if it’s once a week, can make a huge impact in methane reduction. My advocacy to help lessen the climate crisis and push animal justice is through my menu. When you choose to eat at Fare & Just you are helping to make a difference.”
Cooking with seasonal ingredients, Fare & Just’s offerings change twice yearly, featuring core dishes such as the Bunny Bowl, falafel fritters over greens and quinoa with a lemon ginger tahini sauce, Cauliflower Piccata, Lentil Balls Carbonara and General Tso’s Stir Fry with pineapple and cashews. A daily soup or two and cold entree salads join his takes on vegan classics — beans and greens, warm kale salad and veggie burgers. Topping things off are inventive dressings and sauces: maple Dijon, creamy chipotle, apple honey and lemon thyme. Duff’s specials mirror his whimsy at the moment, like his recent nest of fresh greens with a pair of artichoke fritters perched on top.
Coco Chai, Creamsicle and Mocha Dream are the names of some of the nine smoothies that can be boosted with choices from 18 nutritionally rich superfoods like spirulina, fresh ginger juice and moringa leaf. Duff serves 13 flavors of organic tea including black, red, green and white varieties, and the Spindrift line of fruit juice sweetened seltzers.
“I strive for great-tasting, healthy and satisfying meals. Everything, save the tempeh and tofu, is totally prepared by me, and I purchase as many ingredients as possible from local farmers and purveyors. It’s often difficult to access the vegan and gluten-free items I want to cook with, specific high-quality brands that I prefer, but I seek them out, sometimes having to shop retail,” says Duff.
A high percentage of Fare & Just’s client base is not vegan, but desires healthy take-out dishes different from the pizza and fried fish options so popular on the Cape. They return again and again. “It tastes good and you feel good when you eat this way,” says Duff. “Satiated, but not over-stuffed.”
Scrumptious yet not cloyingly sweet desserts are on hand too, also imagined and prepared solely by Duff. Initially offering an ever-widening range of cakes, bars and cookies, in time he learned the value of paring down to a smaller collection of stellar recipes. Resting under a blanket of almond butter frosting is a creation temptingly referred to as “that great chocolate cake.” Ditto his coconut macaroons; lightly sweet and striped with a dark chocolate drizzle, they’re simply loved.
Late to cooking as a career, Duff chose it in part as a way to negotiate his own path; a lifestyle that would allow him to foster his love of his wife Kara and their two sons. Gabe anchors the front window, taking orders and boxing up desserts while food is prepared and returning with orders packaged in compostable take-out ware. Aaron orchestrates the smoothies, serves up soups and salads, and does critical prep work like readying sweet potatoes for roasting. Duff relishes having these young men immersed in the business, for at least as long as they each seem to enjoy it.
Grand, no; quirky, yes. Duff’s approximately 120 square feet of prep and cooking space is just right for now. Located in the small commercial grouping on Route 6A in Brewster that includes Ace Hardware, Snowy Owl Coffee and Great Cape Herbs, Duff is proud of the single stove kitchen that is his first solo entree as a business owner. “Sure, one day I’d love to upgrade to a walk-in cooler and a kitchen with a more traditional ‘line’ area in its layout, yet we’re making it work. Originally, I intended to lease the entire first floor to use for indoor seating. As Covid continued, and finding its square footage would be inadequate to safely distance customers, I was grateful that the landlord was willing to forgo that part of our agreement,” says Duff. “Perhaps it will be a future opportunity.”
Remaining true to his core value of honoring family time, Fare & Just will continue their current schedule, open Thursday through Sunday from 11-7. Duff says, “The reality is I’m working more than seven days a week, seeking out produce and ingredients, developing recipes, and doing food prep, social media, bookkeeping and the like.”
Fare & Just turns two next month. Time now to celebrate its inception, herald its endurance through Covid’s challenges, and imagine where Duff and his crew will lead it next. “It’s just a joy to do this,” says Duff, “I love it.”
Fare & Just Kitchen
2628 Main Street, Brewster
508-896-8804
fareandjustkitchen.com
Facebook @fareandjust
Instagram: fareandjust
