Macon Magazine

98 maconmagazine.com | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2024 dropping these pressurized hard lines is a big piece of the philosophy at Comfort Farms: "In the service, you are surrounded by hard lines. Nobody cares about your excuses. One of the hardest things vets have to deal with is coming from that environment, then trying to fit into a world where most things are out of your control, and you just have to roll with it. On the farm and at Boucherie, it's different. Mother Nature doesn't draw in straight lines. You have to learn to bend with the wind, or you're going to break." You can begin to see the values that guide Jon and all the vets who come for healing. "THIS IS WHAT COMMUNIT Y LOOKS LIKE" This gathering feels bigger than any one person. It's about honor. Honoring the animals we eat, the people who grow and prepare our food, and those who have fought to protect our way of life. It's about guys like Ivan Torreblanca, who flew in from Los Angeles last-minute for the event. "I'd been going through a really bad patch with mental health and PTSD, really struggling to snap out of it. I started to close off and isolate again, but my boss, Chef Robert Wood, saw it coming and bought me a ticket out here. He knew Jon well and insisted this was what I needed. It's been eye opening for me – a complete reset." It's tough to grab a minute with Jon, not because he's running around putting out fires or focusing on event logistics but because he is truly present. He's going from dish to dish, demo to demo, completely immersed. The spark of passion that created the now blazing fire that is the Boucherie is evident on his face as he stands in line, waiting to try some llama tartare, with a smile of anticipation that borders on childhood wonder. He's genuinely uninterested in having the spotlight on himself and is quick to deflect praise onto the people around him. As if on cue, a young Ecuadorian woman walks past. Steering us toward her, Jon says, "This is someone you have got to meet. She's really special." He introduces us to Isabel Valencia. Isabel had never heard of the Boucherie until her sister, who works for a sponsor of the event, heard the theme was ancestral Spanish foods. Jon jokes, "Her sister got her into some trouble. She told me Isabel makes this incredible soup called yaguarlocro. When I told Hector, he said, 'Yaguarlocro! The blood soup! That's an ancient soup!'" So, they brought her and her whole family out to prepare the dish, which consists of alpaca necks, llama hearts, llama liver, and fried lamb blood. Isabel laughs, "When I first got to the farm, I had no idea how many people we would be feeding. When [Jon] is explaining all of this to me, my family is laughing– but I am crying! I was so nervous! I've never cooked for so many people. But Jon told me, 'this is a place where you will have all the help you need, and people will want to learn from you.'" As various people step in to help her prepare the soup, she says, "In our house, family happens in the kitchen. We're always cooking and laughing and dancing together. It has been so nice to share that feeling with everybody here." Jon nods and says, "This is what community looks like. That's Boucherie." DEMOS , WORKSHOPS , DISHES Just outside the pavilion, Chef Hector and his team are making a pachamanca, a Peruvian dish cooked in a pit dug in the ground. They pay respect to these ancient cooking practices with the sweat on their brows and the dirt on their clothes. Hunter Pruett of Middle Georgia Mushroom (a greenside Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician who was on active duty from 2013-2018) is giving a presentation on foraging and cultivation. Kenneth "Red" Gowins (a retired Army combat veteran) is making a chef's knife at a blacksmithing workshop and fielding questions. Care and attention went into choosing the chefs and presenters. Everyone spreads their wealth of knowledge while maintaining a humble sense of service. Across the pavilion, on the side near the alpaca ABOVE Chef Brian's Paella demo. TOP RIGHT A tasting featuring various oils and olive varieties from the Latin world.

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