food
(left to right) Tayst’s Jeremy Barlow in the kitchen; 212 Market in Chattanooga.
Certifiably Green
Armed with certifications from the Green Restaurant Association and a love of good food, the owners of 212 Market in Chattanooga and Tayst in Nashville are doing their part to save the environment. And don’t forget the cuisine—both restaurants serve mouthwatering, innovative dishes with an emphasis on local ingredients TEXT Willow Nero | PHOTOGRAPHY courtesy of Tayst and 212 Market
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t seems everyone has gone green these days from boutiques specializing in organic cotton T-shirts to reusable shopping bags at every checkout line. But in the grand scheme of things, both consumers and businesspeople are having a hard time distinguishing which eco-friendly changes make the biggest impact on the environment. Two Tennessee restaurants — Tayst of Nashville and 212 Market of Chattanooga — have turned to the Green Restaurant Association, a 20-year-old Boston-based nonprofit that provides green consulting, guidelines and a sought-after certification. While the GRA’s system of accounting for points in different green categories may seem daunting, it works and is based on years of expertise and current market research in the restaurant business. GRA Communications Manager Colleen Oteri says the two most important things on the GRA list are ones that are often overlooked. “If a restaurant is not recycling and if they have any Styrofoam—no matter what else they’re doing — they can’t really call themselves green,” she says. “They could have solar panels on their roof but if they’re not doing something as simple as recycling...” Simplicity is much of the draw for the GRA. Like Oteri says, solar panels are a great investment, but the biggest changes the GRA recommends to new members are often money-saving tricks like putting
60 | At Home Tennessee • January 2010
aerators on water taps or partnering with a local farm to provide kitchen waste for composting.“There’s still a misconception out there that green means expensive,” she says. “Consumers know that when they go to the grocery store, organics cost more money, so people kind of lump that mentality into ‘everything green costs more.’” The GRA also steps in to help owners in areas where recycling or certain other resources are unavailable. On the GRA’s Web site, dinegreen.com, individuals can browse the list of certification standards in categories like furnishings, sustainable food and disposables. Soon, consumers will be able to see what steps GRAcertified restaurants have completed, which will be helpful since not all the GRA’s certified restaurants fulfill exactly the same requirements — they’re allowed to pick and choose upgrades each year once the baseline commitment is met. “Our restaurants are not 100 percent green,” Oteri explains. “They never will be. There’ll always be a reach for more and better things.” Tayst the Difference For chef and manager Jeremy Barlow at Tayst in Nashville, going green is just as much about serving the best braised short ribs and shrimp beignets as making a community impact. In the former furniture showroom not far from Vanderbilt University, diners might notice tiny nods to the restaurant’s green
ambition, but the ambiance and menu are just as Barlow says: playful, American fine dining. “I’m passionate to find the best food to put on the plate,” he says. “It is dining first. We are a restaurant, and our goal is to serve people. I believe you can do that and do it well and still operate in a sustainable manner that is good for your community.” Indeed, Barlow has been bringing playful and sustainable together for years. Recently diners enjoyed choice cuts of Jerebob, a local cow raised just for Tayst by DW Farms near Pulaski. Another avant-garde dinner included a surprise menu — choose a protein (like chicken or beef), and the kitchen decided how to prepare it. On the day of our interview, though closed for lunch, Nashville’s only GRAcertified restaurant was abuzz as staff bustled to deliver local foodstuffs to Belmont University, where the freshman class was reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Barlow jokes he’s not a tree-hugging hippie, but he can nearly quote from Michael Pollan’s 2006 bestseller. He admits that what started as a search for the best food has turned him into a bit of an activist. “Nobody’s talking about the connection between the processed food we eat and the health care issues, obesityrelated issues,” he says. “I’ve looked at the big picture, and I’ve said, ‘Wait a minute. I have kids, and they’re probably going to have kids one day, and if I want for them to be able to eat well, we need