The Colorful Agricultural History of Cetrella Half Moon Bay July 10

The Colorful Agricultural History of Cetrella Half Moon Bay
July 10, 2015
Cetrella Half Moon Bay is a villa-style restaurant situated at the site of the former Half Moon Bay Growers
Association, whose sign hangs in its dining room. The HMB Growers Association launched in 1944 as a
non-profit marketing cooperative to process and ship artichoke, brussels sprout, and other seaside
produce. An outgrowth of the HMB Artichoke Growers Association founded a century ago, around 1915,
it was led by the Artichoke King, John L. Debenedetti. In the late 1900s, Italian immigrants planted the first
artichoke farm near Half Moon Bay. This crop remains a vibrant coastal product of longstanding farm
generations who grow it with the benefit of the marine climate. Debenedetti extended its regional
cultivation to Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, and established East Coast distribution, teaching
Americans to prepare and enjoy artichoke. Today, this leafy edible thistle is a California coastal favorite
prized nationally. Bay Area chefs feature and incorporate artichoke in myriad dishes using diverse
technique. Cetrella serves it in appetizers — featured as Grilled Local Half Moon Bay Artichoke, in its
signature Fritto Misto medley of coastal vegetables and seafood — and as accompaniment to its entrée,
Citrus Brined Pitman Farms Mary's Chicken.
References
"The Early Italians of San Mateo County, 1860-1935", exhibition: http://bit.ly/1HUZN9w
"Half Moon Bay Artichoke Growers Association - John L. Debenedetti": http://bit.ly/1KEkLu0
Giannini Foundation on Agricultural Economics: http://bit.ly/1JeLFqp
"A Stroll Down Coastside Memory Lane" in the Half Moon Bay Review: http://bit.ly/1BwwTVw
"The artful artichoke: Bay Area chefs cook this big-hearted California favorite every which way" in San
Francisco Chronicle: http://bit.ly/1HV4iRu