A chef's garden grows at Vicia in St. Louis' Cortex Innovation Center

Situated in St. Louis’ tech hub, the Cortex Innovation Community, Vicia is well known for its commitment to local sourcing and a culinary philosophy that puts pristine produce, rather than protein, at the center of the plate. It’s no surprise, then that when they decided to build a chef’s garden surrounding the perimeter of the restaurant, they reached out to Matt Lebon.

Michael and Tara Gallina met Matt while he was still the farm manager at Earth Dance in Ferguson. It’s not unusual for a restaurant to plant a garden, but Vicia’s location presented some challenges because the sleek modern building was pushed almost up to the city sidewalks. Tara said that she expected they’d be able to plant some sort of garden, but the bounty that the chefs are able to pull from this urban oasis is astounding.

Tomatoes, peppers, figs, jujubes, a huge variety of herbs, edible flowers … the chefs are able to pop out of the kitchen for a quick harvest during service. Can’t get more farm-to-table than that.

Check out some photos of Vicia’s chef garden in our gallery:

Vicia
4260 Forest Park Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63108