ANDY'S ORCHARD pt 1

The Most Elusive Farmer

All photos by Max Knight @maxknightmax

** This is a two-part essay. There was too much to say and too many great photos to include…The second part will be available for your reading pleasure on Friday morning.

If a greengage from his farm is The Holy Grail of stone fruit, then perhaps its finest grower this side of the Atlantic is Andy, the most elusive farmer. At the farmers market, David Karp accentuates the mystique by managing LA’s most competitive wholesale fruit stand / “club” at the most prestigious farmers market, not to mention his pedigree as a pomologist [that’s a real deal fruit expert]. Many, myself included, had assumed that this “Andy” must have been part of this system, a top dog in the world of fruit. A few years ago, while Max and I were on a runaway trip to Northern California, Max casually suggested we go meet Andy. I was floored—was that really possible? Despite interviewing farmers for over a decade, the prospect of meeting this legend was intimidating. Would Andy quiz me? Would he discover that science wasn’t my forte? I was nervous. 

But it turned out I was completely wrong, and so are all of you who have stood in that 100-person line at 6 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, hoping to get that glorious box of “the best stone fruit of the week”—a badge of honor for any true “fruit-ie.”

Andy stands about 6’3” and bears a striking resemblance to my grandfather Leo, after whom my son is named. He has gray-blue eyes that look right into yours and the smile of a man who is genuinely happy and at peace. And he really, really loves fruit. Flavorful fruit.