“Out, birds, out!” Al Rosas is talking to a few bold chickens who have approached the open kitchen door at Rosas Farms, where he busily prepares breakfast for a few guests. These hens are just a few of the nearly 1,000 roaming free range on the farm, providing as many farm-fresh, organic eggs as Rosas and his wife, Erin, can sell.

Organic Lifestyle

Al and Erin Rosas are owners of Rosas Farm, nearly 100 bucolic acres in the North Central Florida town of Citra in Marion County, near Ocala. They pride themselves on raising everything organically. No chemicals come near these fields, where grass-fed beef graze, chickens peck and the Rosas sell that grass-fed beef, the farm-fresh eggs, organic cookies and other local, organic products such as honey and herbs from other producers.

The Rosas are also quite the evangelists for the organic lifestyle. A few years ago, they decided to open the farm for corporate and individual eco-retreats. The Rosas host as many as eight people who come to get away and learn something about the farm. Guests can host company meetings, cook with Al, hand-make butter, play team building games (some that involve gathering eggs) … and get fed very well by Al, a professionally trained chef, and Erin in the meantime.
The Rosas pride themselves on raising everything organically. No chemicals come near these fields, where grass-fed beef graze, chickens peck and the Rosas sell the grass-fed beef, the farm-fresh eggs, organic cookies and other local, organic products such as honey and herbs from other producers.


“The culinary Olympic team stayed the entire weekend once,” says Erin. “They had a blast.”

When asked if they really get to enjoy their company, there’s a pause. “Sometimes, it’s all nonstop,” says Erin. “It’s work, but it’s a blast at the same time. And the night before, when they come in just for the snacks, we can sit and talk. Last night, we sat with Alex [a visitor who won a stay on the farm via an essay contest requiring entrants to define a 'natural lifestyle’], and he played guitar while we were cooking and making marmalade.”

The Rosas have been hard at work creating this lifestyle since 1989. “We are a 20-year overnight success,” laughs Erin, knowing some of the hard work is in the past. “I don’t know how we did what we were doing, but you just do it.”

Now they have the luxury of someone coming in, for example, to hunt down and collect the eggs those 1,000 chickens lay. But instead of slowing down, they seem to be doing more.

Al teaches at the farm. They run the retail store. They both speak to groups all over about going green. He films a syndicated TV segment in Tampa. He teaches at culinary schools, introducing his message about sustainable agriculture (not harming the land, giving the animals a healthy life) and being an “ingredient-driven” (not only profit-driven) restaurant to new generations of culinary students.

Organic Dining

Our brunch starts with a welcoming array of cheeses, that homemade marmalade Erin made the night before, hot coffee, organic cookies, honey ... all just to stave off hunger while Al cooks the feast.

The Rosas banter back and forth as they work together. “How are you going to cook the eggs,” she asks. “Coddle them,” he replies. “You said we were going to eat at 12, right?” The kitchen fills with the scent of sausage, the sound of the mixer as Al whips up soufflés and the sight of dish after dish piled high.

When noon rolls around, our party of seven sits down at a massive table made from a 300-year-old monastery door (reclaimed wood), and digs into house-cured wild boar ham steaks, sausage, Belgian waffles (we cook our own on the iron), fresh bread, the prettiest plates of coddled eggs with sections holding add-ins for the eggs (cheese, herbs, croutons, caviar) and potatoes.

Silence reigns momentarily as we all just enjoy the fruits of Al’s labors. We’re thinking about the fact that much of our meal came from the land just outside the door where we sit. Then conversation takes over as we trade personal histories, takes on organic lifestyles and stories from retreats past and plans for the future.

“If we can get the American farmers to utilize as much of their products as possible (the Rosas send hides to a designer who makes high-fashion leather goods), then we can keep the price of grass-fed beef lower. More people will buy it, then there will be more of a need, then farmers will grow more and the price goes lower as people buy more,” says Al.

Their lifestyle is also about a way of eating. “Know your farmer, know your food,” says Erin. That simple line goes a long way to lead us to good things.

We finish with a visit to the retreat house, just over the hill from the main house. It’s a clean, simple home with an expansive view of the farm fields, orange and lemon trees just by the entrance and space for a fire outdoors. “You should see the stars out here,” says Al.

He pulls a lemon off a tree and hands it to me. I sniff in the citrusy scent and tuck the lemon into my pocket. I already know I’ll make myself a quick glass of fresh lemonade when I get home. We drive on to the retail store where I can’t resist buying a few grass-fed rib-eye steaks.

Goodbyes include hugs all around. The Rosas are masters, it seems, at putting a good dining crowd together, and everyone has formed new friendships. The weather, the place, the experience ... I leave with a sense of relaxation, some new ideas about food and my own eating habits and, ultimately, a sense of pride knowing the Rosas are doing this right here in Florida.

Learn More

Interested in planning your own retreat? A group of eight can book a visit for $1,500. That includes snacks upon arrival, a night’s stay at the retreat house and a five-course organic meal. They will tailor a visit for individuals, too, with prices starting below $100. Call 888-353-9912 or write sales@rosasfarms.com for more information. You can learn more about the farm and about the Rosas at www.alrosas.com.