Nicky USA - Go WILD!

It all started in the back of a Ford Escort. That's where Geoff Latham launched his new venture in 1990 — selling fresh rabbit from the trunk of his car to local restaurants and retailers in the Portland area.

Now, some 16 years later, Latham, Nicky USA founder and owner, is recognized as a major purveyor of sustainably-raised game and poultry.

At the time, he was struggling with a small export business handling Oregon–grown products such as cherries, fruit juice and meats when the new opportunity appeared.

“I was working evenings as a waiter when a customer asked me to sell rabbits,” remembers Latham.

The Oregon State University business graduate saw a niche and, over the next few years, went through four different rabbit producers. He quickly introduced a larger inventory of both local and exotic game to the nation's leading chefs, ranchers and farmers. And he slowly concentrated all aspects of his distribution system, serving both local clientele and direct mail customers. This vertical integration allows Latham to control product quality from the farm to the customer.

“We now handle all aspects of the processing,” he says. “We have established a quality reputation. I have also learned how to ship and deal with large-city restaurants.”

In the Portland area, Latham's products are found in select retail outlets including:

• PastaWorks
• Strohecker's Market
• Viande Meats & Sausage at City Market
• Wizer's
• Zupan's
• L&L Market in Eugene
• Fitts Seafood in Salem
• Newport Avenue Market in Bend

But restaurants remain the backbone of Nicky USA's business. The company has been a pivotal force in expanding the culinary use of traditionally local, indigenous species by making availability user-friendly for restaurants and retail operations, he says. Nicky USA distributes rabbit, game birds, elk, fallow venison, buffalo — even antelope and bear. "This melding of local foods from the wild into more menus has helped invigorate the Northwest cuisine,” he says.

He also feels his ranch vendors share his concern for the ethical treatment of animals and engaging in ecologically sound, sustainable farming practices. “My farmers have been with me for years, so I know they care about their animals,” he says. He notes that he can trace all of his products back to the farm.

Allowing animals to live without suffering and refusing to use feed that contains animal byproducts are the building blocks of sustainable ranching, Latham says. He adds that these guidelines also help increase quality and reliability. Such quality and reliability help establish solid business practices that can be passed on to future generations. Among Latham's vendors with sustainable operations is Anderson Lamb, which raises free-range animals, and Strawberry Mt. Natural Beef in John Day, whose beef is aged for 14 days.

In 2000, his passion led Latham to create Nicky USA's signature culinary event, “Wild About Game,” to educate consumers about the many uses of wild game in modern recipes. Today, the event features James Beard award-winning chefs from throughout the Pacific Northwest and has expanded to include cookbook signings, "Ranch to Range" cooking demos, and Oregon wine pairings.

Latham donates product to many local charitable events, and is a member of various culinary organizations — among them the American Institute of Food and Wine and the James Beard Foundation. He hosts wild-game cooking classes at In Good Taste, a cooking school in Northwest Portland's Pearl District.