BigDaddy’s Farm

Rex Clonts is a fifth-generation farmer who grew up here in Oviedo, a charming town populated by chickens that freely roam the streets. Rex’s grand-dad was the original Big Daddy, who moved his young family to central Florida in 1923 and started out with a plot of celery planted in the rich Black Hammock soil of Seminole County. Today Rex and his wife Denise still grow celery for their neighbors, selling it along with a vast variety of other vegetable crops, from choi sum to purple-topped turnips. Committed to organic agriculture, BigDaddy’s re-certifies their farm every year and regularly tests the soil to monitor fertility, using carefully selected cover crops and no-till farming to rebuild the fields as a vital living ecosystem. Summer is downtime for Florida farmers, but in January, the place will be bustling with energy, and burgeoning fields will give Chef Bruno plenty to work with. Brazilian-born Bruno has lots of experience with improvising, having worked in high-end spots like Normans, taught at Le Cordon Bleu, operated a food truck and captivated central Florida tastebuds with his roving, after-hours Foreigner Experience pop-ups. Now he’s settled into his own brick-and-mortar place, and he’ll bring his omakase menu to BigDaddy’s field.