Happy 4th Anniversary to our super sales manager, Michael Mosley!!! Better known as Mike Mo around the farm, this week marks four full years that he has been working with JBG. How he has put up with all of us for so long, we will never understand, but the farm would be a completely different place without him, so we are sooo happy to have him as a part of the team. Farm community - meet Mike!

Where did you grow up and how did you get to Austin?

I grew up in Hollandale, Mississippi. It's a real small town surrounded by cotton fields. Everyone in my family has always cooked a lot - good southern cooking, fried foods, veggies. I never thought about working in agriculture growing up, though.

I moved to DC for college and started working in hospitality/restaurants after that. My interest in the restaurant industry led me to move out to San Francisco for a while, then eventually back home to Mississippi. My wife and I quickly realized we weren't going to stick around at home for too long, and since she had lived in Austin previously and we had lots of friends here, we packed up and came to Texas.

What brought you to JBG?

When we came back to Austin, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and a really awesome job counselor was the one who put me on this track. He basically asked me to sit down and tell him my life story, and noticed that I kept referring to food - my grandma's garden, my families cookouts, my experience working in restaurants. He asked if I'd ever looking into sustainable agriculture or farming, and I told him I hadn't. But it sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try.

So after that, I applied to be on the JBG tomato crew, and the rest is history.

What roles have you held at the farm, and what do you do in your current role?

Well, I didn't end up getting the tomato crew position, but JBG asked if I would be interested in working on the CSA packing line. I've also worked on the wholesale crew (back when we would pack orders as soon as they were called in - things have certainly changed around here), as a restaurant delivery driver, and then created the restaurant sales manager position at the farm.

My job now as restaurant manager is basically to communicate between the farm and our loca chefs and caterers, to let them know what we currently can harvest as well as what's coming up from the farm. We always strive to get our customers the freshest product possible, and I order produce from the field to be harvested, packed and delivered around town within 24 hours or being ordered.

Mike Mo is a human GPS! He coordinates all of our wholesale routes, and knows pretty much every shortcut, side-road, back alley and delivery entrance around town to get our orders delivered in a super timely fashion. He's also the JBG team member who worked closest with AISD for our farm-to-school initiative earlier this year.

What's been the biggest change you've seen over the years in Austin's food scene?

I've spent close to 3 years in my current role at the farm. It's shocking the number of new restaurants that have come to Austin in the past few years. I've really enjoyed seeing Austin cuisine evolve - it has certainly been elevated to new levels, with lots of really impressive high end food in our city. I think that customers have played a big role in shifting the market towards a local food economy, and our restaurants have really responded to the demand for locally sourced menus.

Reverse seared ribeye from Mike Mo's kitchen.. yum!

Best meal you've eaten out this year?

I had an absolutely outstanding meal at Gardner - we tried to eat a little bit of everything and it was all so great, a really wonderfully thought out meal. While I can't remember every dish we tried, a huge standout favorite were their roasted JBG carrots cooked in soy milk, topped with golden raisins. The dish seemed so simple when you read it, but so incredibly good. I was sorry to see Gardner go, but Chicon is also really great and I've had a number of great meals there too!

I'd also have to give a special shoutout to the steak at Dai Due. It was perfect - prepared so minimally and really highlighted the incredible meat they source.

Tell us about what you're cooking at home.

A lot of cooking and experimentation goes on in my kitchen. We cook a lot of Asian dishes at my house, as well as a good mix of Southern and Cajun cuisine.

I've been learning more about how to barbecue at home - even though it's worlds better to buy from the masters, it's an interesting and fun way to cook. You are simultaneously trying to flavor and cook the meat with smoke, and there are so many nuances to it. Luckily, even when you "mess up," the result is still pretty good to eat.

This summer I'm going to try my hand at another home fermented sriracha and sambal. I used red serranos last year, and it was a little much. Definitely tasty, but way too hot for most people. I'm going to go with red jalapeños instead this year.



Favorite and least favorite veggies?

Tomatoes are my favorite. They are just so versatile and just scream of summer. My least favorite is daikon radish - I just cant get into the flavor, it doesn't do it for me.

If you were stuck on a desert island and could bring 3 things along, what would you choose?

1. A cell phone? Would it work?
2. A water purification system
3. A knife.

How very practical of you, Mike.

Mike and a team of folks from AISD for the launch of Farm Fresh Fridays.

Staff Survey: If Mike Mo were a veggie, which one would he be? Why?

Daniel: Dandelion greens - he's everywhere on the farm! And while he flies under the radar most of the time, when you pay attention you realize how great Mike really is for us!! (side note: Mike Mo does not like Dandelion Greens. But his rabbit, Glenn, loves em.)

Ada: Okra! Mike is a good southern gentleman (and a great southern cook!!), and what better vegetable to represent the south?

Nellie: A tomato - each one is colorful and unique, and tomatoes certainly make almost everyone happy. Mike Mo is a great sales manager and does whatever it takes to make our customers happy too!

You can follow along on Mike's culinary adventures on Instagram @veggiemonger. Be sure to have something to eat nearby - it'll definitely make you hungry! Happy 4 years at JBG, Mike Mo - we couldn't imagine this place without you.