Our Farms

We all instinctively know that the food we eat is "organic" - vegetables, fruits and grains grow from the land and are harvested, our meat and dairy comes from animals that walk the earth and feed off of the land. We know that farms are the source of our sustenance. But the word "farm" can mean so many things today. There are factory farms and food processing operations, family farms, organic farms, sustainable farms - all kinds of emerging adjectives and different approaches.

The farms that we look to for Corner Table are real working farms, owned by real working farmers that we visit and to talk about the food they grow and raise. The conversations we have are focused on the food that is best today, in line with the seasons and the weather. We talk about the pride they take in their work and techniques, their sustainable approach to caring for the land, and what they produce best.

This, to us, is how cooking should be done.

Farms that supply the food you'll find at Corner Table include:

William Yoder
Drag Smith Farm
Thousand Hills Cattle
Castle Rock Creamery
Hope Creamery Butter
Valley View Farms Family co-op
Green Pastures Creamery

About Us

Corner Table is a restaurant that listens to the fields, farms, pastures, and seasons that surround us. That source of inspiration guides our creativity and our entire menu, which is crafted from foods sourced locally and in season from responsible family farms. This approach is completely sustainable, and it's grounded in our respect for our history, nature's perfection, and our place in the world.

As a chef here and now, I am inspired by these elements more than anything else, for two reasons especially. First, I believe we have a responsibility to respect the craft that has come before us and the land that sustains us. And second, I am driven by the opportunity to deliver a sense of place on every plate. We can look all over the globe for inspiration and ideas, but if that's all we ever did, I fear we would lose that valuable sense of place. By sourcing and cooking locally and seasonally, we can evoke our surroundings, our local farms and all they provide, with a single, perfect meal.

Scott Pampuch

OWNER/EXECUTIVE CHEF

While cooking at the Modern Café Scott realized his true passion for cooking was right in his own backyard. In 2001, the Southeast Minnesota Food Network offered him the opportunity to buy food from his hometown and surrounding areas. Their emphasis on sustainability and responsibility towards the land continues to be something in which Scott proudly participates.

In 2004 Scott opened the doors of Corner Table, his own restaurant. The James Beard quote above the kitchen window reads "I don't like gourmet cooking or 'this' cooking or 'that' cooking. I like good cooking," and he holds to that philosophy. He only makes food that he and his family would love to eat and reflects the local agriculture as much as possible. His wine list is even made of up wineries that are all family owned and operated.

His favorite thing is "the smell of a really good city restaurant in fall," and he's lucky enough to strive for that smell every day.

Jorge Guzman

CHEF DE CUISINE

His earliest memories of food were of his grandmother's, Mayan cook, Dona Machety sitting at the kitchen table with her weathered face and ear to ear grin preparing the afternoon's comida. He remembers the sounds of the early morning Mercado, the smells of the comal toasting chilies and the sight of the molcajete used to grind the spices for the recados.

In many ways Jorge never left that Mayan kitchen. He loves doing the hands on work in the kitchen and strives to cook real food really well, while supporting the community of local growers and purveyors that provide raw ingredients. This passion lead him to The Culinary Institute of America after graduating from Drake University and ultimately to Corner Table where he now teaches, learns & works. If he'll tell you anything it would be, "don't burn the day away".