Although Ramen, Rice-a-Roni and Domino’s are undoubtedly convenient for a college student, do yourself a favor and discover what real food tastes like. This Sunday, Harvest, one of Madison’s premier restaurants with a tradition of quality cuisine, will commemorate eight years of thriving success. Tami Lax, co-owner and founder of Harvest sat down with The Badger Herald this week to give a candid look into the beginnings and future of her business ventures.
Lax took the bold leap from the retail world to try her knives at culinary school. With five years of invaluable experience as a chef de cuisine at L’Etoile, she combined her business background, culinary education and real world experience to start her own restaurant.
“I’ve been here for eight years, and I was cooking for six years before that, and I look forward to coming to work every day. It is one of those things where if you are planning a dinner party for your friends and they all come over and they leave happy and everyone had a great time, it is like that every night here. It is very rewarding,” Lax said in retrospect of her risky career move.
Those who dine at the downtown favorite attest to the delectability of in-season vegetables prepared fresh every day. Harvest possesses the distinct ability to highlight the subtle flavors of produce purchased only a stone’s throw away at the local farmers’ market. Lax gave the Herald a sneak peek of what veggies we can look forward to this fall.
“Fall is a great time of year. It is when all the green vegetables like the kale, chard, squash and potatoes. I love that stuff. It is a very exciting time of year for me.”
Lax has a personal connection to the work ethic of farmers and the struggles they face to survive in the face of agricultural big business.
“I come from a background where both of my grandparents are farmers, and I saw their businesses slowly disintegrate because of the larger commercial farms. … It has always been this personal quest to make a business that can allow people to farm for a living and pay them a fair price for the food,” Lax said regarding her motivation to maintain sustainability at Harvest.
The French-Italian/American fusion of cooking styles practiced at Harvest stem from the European approach to cuisine: daily preparation of hometown specialties. Salivating guests frequent elegant, themed dinners and private parties in the expanded dining room. A decadent six course meal astounds even the pickiest of appetites. In addition to Harvest, Lax owns another restaurant: the Old Fashioned, which highlights local produce accenting Wisconsin’s finest cuisine, with homegrown Wisconsin bratwurst, dairy and other staples of the Madisonian diet. For the college budget, the Old Fashioned takes a more casual approach to dining. Just think — you can share a quality meal with someone special for the price of a quarter of a textbook. However, when said college students’ parents come to visit, Harvest is a must. The New York Times gave Harvest the prestigious title of “Madison’s Must Visit Restaurant.” The Times was certainly not the only publication raving; Organic Style Magazine dubs Harvest one of the “Top Twenty Restaurants in the U.S.A.” Later in our interview, Lax divulged her secrets to the restaurant’s success: dedicated, skilled staff and delicious dishes prepared daily with Madison’s finest, homegrown ingredients.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a large chunk of employees who have been here for five to eight years. You build really strong relationships and friendships with those people because you are here so much with them; half of my days are spent with them.” Lax said.
Harvest Restaurant nestles itself on the Capital Square in thriving downtown Madison at 21 N. Pinckney St. Come partake in the festivity at Harvest’s special anniversary meal this Sunday at 6 p.m., as the community celebrates the success of one of Madison’s many gems.
