Homestead Manor celebrated its six-month milestone by hiring two team members to play integral ro
les in the property’s on-site restaurant and farm-to-fork process.
Steven Bailey, who founded one of the largest Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Texas before relocating to Williamson County, is now leading Homestead’s agricultural operations as the concept’s farm director. With nearly a decade of experience with urban farming and restaurant consulting, Bailey will work closely with the Harvest at Homestead Manor kitchen to help further elevate future menus.
Dylan Morrison, Harvest’s recently appointed chef de cuisine, is also playing an important part in the “locavore” movement at the restaurant. Carrying a personal vested interest in the process, he also provides nearly 10 years of hands-on experience from kitchens and gardens throughout the Southeast, and will act as a liaison between the kitchen and Bailey to bring the restaurant’s inspired plates to life.
“Homestead continues to evolve as a sustainable concept, and both Steven and Dylan are complements in pushing us forward in that effort,” said Claire Crowell, COO of A. Marshall Family Foods Inc., which includes Homestead. “We are confident that their combined passion for the kind of experiences we offer will be accurately reflected in Harvest dishes.”
In 2009, Bailey launched Dallas-based Urban Acres, creating a CSA model over the next seven years that fed 2,400 families at its height and provided a model to connect farms across the state to meet demand needs. The effort led to a successful urban farm that helped incubate brand-new farmers, and worked with as many as 40 farmers and artisans each month. He has also moonlighted as a private chef for exclusive clients, utilizing his passion for locally grown food.
Bailey’s varied experiences will lend to his unique role as farm director, where he is charged with overseeing 10-plus acres of land and a greenhouse; playing a heavy hand in restaurant menu creation; running Homestead’s seasonal farmer’s market; and forming partnerships with neighboring farms and artisans. He also hopes to bring animals to Homestead in the near future.
“My passion for farming is rooted in telling the story of where our food comes from,” Bailey said. “I have big dreams to introduce chickens and pigs, and eventually other animals too. I’m excited to push the envelope and help develop the most progressive menu in Middle Tennessee through a completely sustainable farm.”
Prior to joining the concept, Morrison served as a line cook, sous chef and organizational manager for brands in the Nashville-based restaurant group Strategic Hospitality. He says he hopes to continue developing offerings that reflect individualism and modern dishes with nostalgic notes.
“Throughout my career, I’ve developed a strong interest in vertically integrated businesses. I’ve spent much of my personal time learning how product grown in my own backyard can be used in restaurant settings,” Morrison said. “I’m excited to grow in that knowledge and be part of a team that continues
to build on that shared vision.”
The latest culinary landmark in Williamson County, Harvest opened in July 2015 under the A. Marshall Family Foods Inc. umbrella. Located in a ca. 1819 National Register home in Thompson’s Station, the current menu builds on Southern basics, while borrowing inspiration from culinary traditions that
have originated from kitchens across the map.
“At the end of each day, our mission for Harvest is to take this property’s history—which includes our culture’s inherited legacy of culinary generosity—and use that as an influencer to bring friends and family together over a meal,” said Andy Marshall, proprietor of A. Marshall Foods.
Harvest at Homestead, located at 4685 Columbia Pike, is open Tuesday through Friday for lunch and dinner; and Saturday and Sunday for brunch, lunch and dinner. To learn more about Harvest, visit its website at Homestead Manor.
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