Greer's OC

Fermentation Farm—the Costa Mesa health and specialty shop focused on fermented foods, craft kombucha, organic offerings, and more—has joined forces with Chef Amy Lebrun, who will take on the role of Culinary Director & Executive Chef of the brand’s three kitchens and recently-constructed restaurant. Founded in 2014 by Dr. Yasmine Mason, D.C., of Huntington Beach, Fermentation Farm provides local, organic, and densely nutritious foods with the belief that a “A Healthy Gut = A Healthy Life.”

Mason, who grew up on a farm in Nevada with her chef father, learned from an early age the importance of raising, growing, and preparing your own food. After working with her husband for over a decade at their Newport Beach chiropractic office, Fermentation Farm initially started in Mason’s kitchen to create fermented foods for the health benefits of her clients, before becoming a major passion and thriving business that is popular with local health enthusiasts and medical practitioners.

Lebrun—a Huntington Beach native who most recently was Executive Chef of Lido Bottle Works in Newport Harbor—is defined by her hyper-seasonal cooking style which utilizes peak-of-season ingredients and inspiration from regional farms, meat and seafood purveyors, and other local makers. She started her culinary career in 2001 at The Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel. Over the years Lebrun has held leadership roles in several high-volume and corporate venues including The Ritz Carlton, The Resort at Pelican Hill, 24 Carrots, and Wyndham Avenue of the Arts. In 2019 she was nominated for Chef of the Year at the Orange County Restaurant Association’s Golden Foodie Awards.

By joining the team at Fermentation Farm, Lebrun will delve even deeper into the nexus of food and science, with fermentation as her muse.

“Fermentation provides a lot of umami,” Lebrun said. “The product that we’re serving doesn’t need a lot, so my goal here is to showcase a lot of what we make and sell in house.”

As Executive Chef, Lebrun will run the 3 in-house kitchens operating under the Fermentation Farm banner: the Hot Bar, Cold Fermenting Kitchen, and Broth & Kombucha Kitchen. She will also change the menu for the restaurant within Fermentation Farm, which debuted Dec. 1, 2020, along with a remodel and expansion of the business. The menu features small plates, soups and chilis, sides, snacks and beverages.

Lebrun will utilize her immense network of suppliers and showcase them across her seasonal menu. Once classes and gatherings can legally resume according to COVID-19 protocols, the duo are also planning chef dinners, and cooking classes for the public and for chefs—to teach them how to bring the art of fermentation back into their kitchens.

She is working on partnering with The Ecology Center for their take-home chef meal series, as well as offering her own in-house make-at-home meal kits from the items at Fermentation Farm. Lebrun will also launch her own line of food products that will be sold at Fermentation Farm, and start a chefs garden behind the shop.

“My whole life is the blend between food and science, Fermentation fits right in the middle of that.” Mason, the shop’s founder, said. “Combining that with this new culinary direction will send us into another dimension.”

Open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Daily
Fermentation Farm is at 1125 Victoria St., Suite R in Costa Mesa. 949.650.0830.

Photo Caption BISON RIBEYE (Diamond Mountain Ranch Grass-fed/Grass-finished bison)

All Photos, Credit: Knife & Spork PR