“From Field to Table” is a concept that has been instilled in Matthew from an early age. Matthew grew up on a small dairy farm in Sussex County where he learned first hand the importance of fresh ingredients in making delicious meals. He worked the farm with his father and spent precious time with this mother and grandmother in the kitchen preserving and baking farm fresh ingredients. This early love and appreciation for food inspired him to pursue a career in the food industry.
Following high school, Matthew enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. While in school, Matthew interned at Café Boulud in New York City and after graduating worked at the prestigious Ryland Inn in White House, New Jersey.
In the fall of 2003 Farmer George Rude hired Matthew to run The Griggstown Farm Market. During his first year of employment with George, Matthew worked on the farm, learning the entire operation from start to finish. During that first year he also developed the store’s signature Chicken Pot Pie, in his mother’s kitchen. The Griggstown Market has continued to blossom under Matthew’s supervision, now producing over 40 different food products in a shiny new certified USDA kitchen, featuring ingredients from the farm. Griggstown Farm products are also currently sold at over 30 different retail outlets in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well as 12 neighboring seasonal farmers markets.
In the winter of 2009, Matthew began plans to expand the market to include a vegetable and herb farm. The farm’s produce will be distributed through a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA) as well as to local restaurants and retail stores.
