Word has gotten out lately about Red Stick Farmers Market vendor Southern Maids Dairy, which produces farmstead chevre, feta, yogurt and cheesecake from its herd of about 200 dairy goats. Now the Franklinton-based dairy is also selling its products to City Group Hospitality for use on some of the restaurant group’s menus.
Diners can now find Southern Maid products in dishes at Rouj Creole, City Pork, Beausoleil and Proverbial Wine Bistro, as well as in City Group’s catering division.
It’s not Southern Maids’ first foray into restaurant sales. The family-run dairy sells goat milk feta and chevre to New Orleans-based St. James Cheese Company, which sells the cheeses at its two retail stores, and to about 40-60 New Orleans restaurants. Through St. James, the cheeses have also made their way to downtown Baton Rouge wine bar Blend.
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Southern Maids co-founder Nathan Miller says the dairy milks about 30 to 40 gallons of goat milk from its herd of Nubian, Saanen and Alpine goats daily.
The milk is turned into about 14 gallons of finished yogurt, 100 pounds of chevre and 75 to 80 pounds of feta every week, he says.
“We literally make two to three batches of cheese and yogurt every day,” says Miller, who runs the dairy with his wife, Erin. “Our milk never sits more than a couple of hours before we turn it into something.”
City Group will feature Southern Maids’ chevre, feta and yogurt in dishes that include Beausoleil’s Ras El Hanout-crusted lamb chops with goat cheese tzatziki; and the restaurant’s lobster Saint-Domingue, butter-poached seafood with herb and goat cheese spread, confit tomato petals and apple pear relish.
Rouj Creole will use the dairy’s feta in its crispy fried harissa cauliflower and its whipped feta Brussels sprouts.
City Pork’s Perkins Road location will feature Southern Maids’ goat cheese crumbles in its Ribs & Peaches. Other dishes will incorporate the products, as well.
The Millers started with four goats that Nathan Miller purchased for his wife as an anniversary present in 2015. They’ve grown the herd to more than 200, 75 of which are actively milked. The goats eat a combination of dairy pellets and alfalfa, Miller says.
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Along with the Red Stick Farmers Market, Southern Maids’ products are available for retail in Baton Rouge at Iverstine Farms Butcher. Miller delivers them every Thursday after the farmers market at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. He also attends the Saturday market downtown.
Developing a relationship with restaurants or restaurant groups has long been seen as advantageous for local producers because it provides them an additional revenue stream, says BREADA Executive Director Darlene Rowland.
Other regional farms also routinely supply restaurants. Fullness Organic Farm sells to BLDG 5 and Iverstine Farms Butcher. Mushroom Maggie’s Farm, which grows several varieties of gourmet mushrooms, sells to about 10 restaurants in Baton Rouge alone, including Rocca Pizzeria, Spoke & Hub and Eliza. Goat cheese producer Belle Ecorce and Cutrer’s Meats also sell to Eliza.