Lately I have been playing a LOT of “I spy with my little eye …” Yep, you guessed it. I have two toddler talkers, and “I spy” is a welcomed alternative to tattle telling. While my “I spy” participation usually includes reminding them not to say the secret word while they are describing it, I couldn’t help but use the game as inspiration for an opportunity to showcase something that “I spy” as being a model for change, growth and resilience — just the right topic for a springtime piece on something related to the food world. So … here it goes. 

“I spy” something round and navy-ish, purple. They are juicy, sweet and still have some acidity or tartness depending upon their ripeness. They have a nice snap when they are super fresh. They are the beloved snack of toddlers and adults alike and should definitely show up in your weekend cocktail plans whether they be derby mint juleps or Cinco De Mayo margaritas. Their year-round availability has skyrocketed in the last decade and a half. To top it off, this tasty little treat has been influenced by so much more than the average consumer would ever think.  To name a few influential players in my “I spy” morsels — botanists, asparagus, coconuts and, believe it or not, cocaine have all shaped how we procure these fresh little products. The story behind my “I spy” is as topsy-turvy as it gets but also, at its heart, illustrates a model for continuous improvement applicable to nearly every industry — the hospitality industry included. If you didn’t skip ahead for the answer in the recipes below (spoiler alert) and you guessed blueberries, you are exactly right! 

According to the USDA, “Global production more than doubled between 2010 and 2019, rising from 439,000 metric tons to nearly 1.0 million.” The International Blueberry Organization follows up that statistic with a continuation of growth. Blueberries really are more available than they used to be. The fun part is that blueberries are easy to find and certainly do the trick to quiet the moments when I cannot play yet another round of “I spy” with my littles; however, the back story is the real “I spy,” which is a great collaboration project that is good for the Peruvian economy it serves, is environmentally considerate and also helps to propel social change. 

The woefully simplified version of the story is that market demand for fresh blueberries in the U.S. and Europe paved the way for scientists’ creative thinking and problem solving while working with growers and exporters around the common goal of shifting farmers from growing coca in Peru (ingredient used to make cocaine) to an export worth celebrating. Initially, farmers in Peru were successfully growing asparagus for export, largely to the U.S., as a distraction from the coca industry. Yet with falling prices resulting from asparagus being grown more economically and exported from Mexico, a new strategy was necessary.  Reinventing and even expanding the farming region with blueberries has been economically impactful as farmers employed more people, adopted drip irrigation, utilized a coconut byproduct called coco coir to amend the desert-like growing conditions along Peru’s coast and worked with scientists to identify a variety that not only tasted delicious but was also successful in its intended growing region. South America’s opposite growing season made marketing this product to consumers possible, and the collective effort resulted in Peru rising to the top as now the fourth largest exporter of blueberries.

I hope Springfield and its surrounding communities can adapt aspects of this model of success as we are poised to grow in the hospitality sector. With the expansion of tourism driven by Visit Springfield, the Route 66 100th Birthday approaching and the new Scheel’s Sports Park opening this year, Springfield and its surrounding communities are positioned for rapid hospitality growth over the next five years and beyond. The Scheel’s Sports Park alone estimates an annual economic impact of approximately $30 million, primarily driven by an influx of around 200,000 visitors each year attending youth sports tournaments and related events. The impact on our local hotels, restaurants, retail and attractions will be significant. 

The model, or process, of great community ingenuity that “I spied” in the blueberry growth scenario is to identify the demand or establish a need, collaborate, implement a solution or several solutions, measure the outcomes, collaborate again when the previous solution no longer works and implement a new solution. Committing to the cycle of continuous growth will perpetuate collective achievement if we give it the necessary attention. 

So are we ready? Can we expand how we collectively deliver our great community as a “product” to which we can increasingly be very proud? Can we continue to adjust the strategy so that momentum continues over the next decade and beyond? There are already so many great hospitality installations — from history to recreation to dining of all kinds as well as wonderfully kind people hosting great places to stay. Springfield and surrounding communities have so much to offer to those that visit, but can we come together to think of creative solutions to staffing growth in hospitality and tourism? Let’s put on our thinking hats, raise a glass of your preferred blueberry-inspired beverage and make a toast to not only the great folks that serve us all over our communities already but also to our future collaboration so that so that Central Illinois’ hospitality light shines that much brighter.

Blueberry basil margarita

Ingredients

• Fresh blueberries (a small handful)
• Fresh basil (2-3 leaves)
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 0.75 oz. triple sec or orange liqueur
• 2 oz. tequila

Instructions

Muddle blueberries and basil in a shaker. Add lime juice, triple sec, tequila and ice. Shake and strain into a salt-rimmed glass with ice. Garnish with basil and berries.

Blue bourbon smash

Ingredients

• Fresh blueberries
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 0.5 oz. simple syrup
• 2 oz. bourbon

Instructions

Muddle blueberries with lemon juice and syrup. Add bourbon and ice, shake and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a lemon twist and a few whole blueberries.

About

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.