Fermentation Farm in Costa Mesa grows gut-healthy dishes
When most people think of health food, delicious dishes don’t necessarily come to mind. But Dr. Yasmine Mason and Chef Amy Lebrun from Fermentation Farm in Costa Mesa are working to change that.
“Everything that we do here is around gut health and being about the healthiest food you can find in Orange County,” said co-owner Mason.
Fermentation Farm was founded in 2014, and while it isn’t a farm in the traditional sense, it does grow beneficial bacteria and yeast for probiotic benefit. The idea sprouted from Mason’s own kitchen where she was making fermented foods for patients she saw in her chiropractor practice.
“I was making fermented vegetables, kombucha, fermented dairy yogurt and bone broth for all of our patients. My husband and I are chiropractors, and we have been chiropractors in the area for over 20 years,” said Mason. “Our patients were coming in more often with digestive issues so I started fermenting foods for them.”
Soon the demand for Mason’s foods outgrew her kitchen, and she moved into the space Fermentation Farm now occupies on Victoria Street and Valley Road in Costa Mesa. In the time since, the single suite that held a small kitchen and tiny retail space has grown.
“In the last seven years, we have expanded to occupying seven of the eight suites here,” said Mason.
Specializing in probiotic-rich and restorative foods that also contain B vitamins, electrolytes, collagen and minerals that help regulate proper gut and immune system and overall body wellness, Fermentation Farm’s motto is: “Healthy Gut = Healthy Life.”
Items for sale include crock-fermented organic condiments like relish and chimichurri and crock-fermented organic veggies of all varieties in 16-ounce jars. The retail shop also carries fermented sodas, 18 kombucha flavors on tap, tonics, brines, yogurts and live starter and mother cultures so customers can make their own kombucha or sourdough.
“We don’t use any industrial seed oils. We don’t use any high processed sugars or flours, so everything is really super healthy,” said Mason.
In December 2020, Fermentation Farm opened a café, and Mason tapped longtime friend and chef Amy Lebrun as culinary director and executive chef.
“This is something that brought us together,” Lebrun said after she and Mason geeked out over a live koji culture (a cooked rice or barley grain that has been inoculated with a fermentation culture) they have been growing since February. “We are building our own flavors; this is a natural umami.”
Lebrun has worked as a chef for more than 20 years, first at the Resort at Pelican Hill and then as executive chef at Lido Bottle Works before finding her way to Fermentation Farm, where she said everyday is a learning experience.
“Fermentation is new to me, even though it’s not a new art,” said Lebrun, though she said fermentation is naturally present in cooking.
“Bread, beer, wine, all the things I love, it has always been underlying so now this is a different level,” she said.
Lebrun admits that like most chefs, in the past she was focused more on hyper seasonality.
“Why do I need to ferment my food if I want the freshest quality ingredients and I want to utilize that flavor in the moment?” Lebrun said.
She learned from Mason that the benefits of consuming fermented food are endless.
“By eating these fermented foods and drinking these fermented drinks you really are putting a wide variety of probiotic guys back into your gut, the yeast, the bacteria, the enzymes that you need for digestions, and it really helps balance out your gut microbiome,” said Mason.
Mason and Lebrun both know that diners don’t just eat for health, however, and Lebrun developed a menu that highlights Fermentation’s Farm’s products in a delicious way.
“It was important for us to marry the richness of gut health and what Dr. Yas has already been doing with fermentation with being creative with the dishes that are going to fit well with our existing fermentation products,” said Lebrun.
The results are dishes like French toast stuffed with pear jam, topped with pomegranate seeds and as beautiful as a bouquet on a plate or a vibrantly yellow roasted brassica dish made with fermented curry and coconut cashew.
Besides the retail space and café, Fermentation Farm also hosts monthly classes where people can learn to brew their own kombucha or start their own fermentation projects.
“We have kits that people can take home too,” said Mason.
Classes range from a bone broth class and fermented soda class to a kimchi class and an organic sourdough bread class. A new popular class is Chef Amy’s Grazing Board 101. The fee for classes range from $45 to $90.
The next chapter for Fermentation Farm is its forthcoming Chef Table Dinners, in which Lebrun will use seasonal ingredients and gut-healthy products to create what is described as a one-of-a-kind dining experience. Join the list for future dinners at fermfarm.com/chef-table-dinners.
To get a taste now, you can visit Fermentation Farm for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
“I feel like this is culinary medicine and a food pharmacy,” said Lebrun. “You are nurturing your body and your soul because you know mentally you are eating great food, and physically you will be feeling great about it.”
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