Stephen and Inez Ribustello have been developing a reputation as pioneers in Tarboro’s local food movement ever since they opened On the Square almost a decade ago. Husband, wife and restaurant have won their share of epicurean accolades — Inez, in fact, was elected a runner up in the American Sommelier Association’s 2009 Best Sommelier in America competition — while at the same time tailoring their menu to support the local farming community and promote the superior flavors and sustainability of local products.

But Stephen, who heads On the Square’s kitchen not only as owner but also as chef, sees that leading role as almost ironic: he’s just doing what makes the most sense.

“In Europe, it’s not even a movement,” he says of the push to use more local, sustainable and natural foods. “It’s just the way things are, the way people have been doing things for centuries. In spring, you eat lamb because that’s when the sheep have their babies, and you eat asparagus because that’s one of the first vegetables to pop up.”

On the Square’s menu — which changes weekly — follows nature’s cues to produce a fine, artfully presented cuisine that dresses local, seasonal products with international pizzazz. The first weekend in May, for example, Ribustello featured magnificent spring selections: a chilled local asparagus salad — dressed up with a slow cooked egg, panko, and sherry vinaigrette — and an American leg of lamb — complemented with rosemary Roquefort and jalapeño glaze.

In the few years since he first arrived on Tarboro’s restaurant scene, Ribustello has seen a big change.

“Five years ago, it was hard to find more than one or two producers who could supply us maybe with collard greens. Now I’ve got five different people trying to sell me asparagus.”

It’s a change that pleases Ribustello, and it makes him feel good about his role in re-creating a market for local producers — and for local eaters.

“You like to feel that you’re making a difference.”

What works for the Ribustellos is that they treat their commitment to local food as a springboard for their cuisine rather than a limitation, and their rich background in the culinary arts, including apprenticeships overseas, lends their cuisine an elegant, cosmopolitan flair at the same time that it celebrates the North Carolina harvest. One of the most pleasurable ways they’ve created that unique flavor is by complementing Stephen’s cooking with a well-chosen wine list that sommelier Inez has developed into a Wine Spectator award-winning selection.

Recently the Ribustellos have earned another honor: Jane Gregg of Epicurean Ways Food and Wine Tours asked the couple to lead a gastronomic tour of northeastern Spain in September. For foodies in the know, that’s cava country, tapas and pintxo central, and the home of Ferran Adrià, Luis Aduriz, and techno-emotional cuisine. Stephen and Inez, both enthusiasts of Spanish food and wine, were eager to sign on. They’ve spent time in several of Europe’s gastronomic hotspots but have yet to manage a trip to explore the Spanish food and wine culture that both adore.

“We worked the grape harvest in Burgundy in 2002, and we also made it to northwestern Italy where they make Barolo and Barbaresco. But we never made it to Spain,” explained Stephen. Ironic, because he later worked at a wine store in Manhattan that specialized in Spanish products, and there he fell in love with Spanish wine and food. He and Inez toyed with the idea of planning and leading a gourmet’s trip to Spain, but nothing came of the idea. Then one day, Ms. Gregg appeared with an unexpected invitation for the Ribustellos to host their dream trip.

“It was as though she’d been listening in on our conversation,” Ribustello joked.

Now he and Inez are getting excited as they prepare for the September trip. Some of their favorite wines come from the Catalan and Basque cellars they’ll visit on the trip, including those of the Penedès cavas they feature on their award-winning menu and consider personal favorites. And they’ll be able to explore the ways that the Spanish chefs make creative use of local, in-season products — the local food movement that doesn’t even need to be a movement, as Stephen says, in the Spanish gastronomy famous for both its regional emphasis and its innovation.

The Ribustellos are thrilled, too, that their trip will have one more element of the local-international cocktail that defines their food: some of the Ribustellos’ local Tarboro fans will enjoy the trip along with them. Epicurean Ways has set aside a limited number of spots for guests from Eastern North Carolina and Inez and Stephen would like nothing more than to enjoy this foodie dream of a vacation with the friends they’ve made in Tarboro.

“We’re really excited about the trip. We love food, we love wine, we love Spanish food and wine, and that’s what this trip is all about. It’s going to be a lot of fun to share that experience with others who feel the same way.”

Barcelona and the Basque Country Trip to Spain, hosted by Stephen and Inez Ribustello of On the Square Restaurant in Tarboro from Sept. 4 through Sept. 111.

To sign up contact Epicurean Ways 434-738-2293 or at info@epicureanways.com