Agern

• WHO: Claus Meyer, owner; Jeppe Anderson, chef
• WHAT: A restaurant & bar with Nordic roots
• WHERE: 89 East 42nd Street, New York City, New York, USA

“We pride ourselves on having partnerships with incredible local fishmongers, foragers, and farmers. For example, our lamb is sourced solely from Elysian Field Sheep Farm who practices holistic and humane treatment for all of their animals. We seek out farms and purveyors who share our passion for ethical and environmentally-conscious methods. “We seek out sustainable practices whenever possible, and highlight the best of what is in season.

“We work closely with The Melting Pot Foundation's Brownsville Community Culinary Center – our founder Claus Meyer's initiative to educate Brownsville residents in the culinary arts and hospitality. They work to impart practical skills, a stipend, and education to provide a knowledge-base to help their members eat better but also to create a career in their community or elsewhere. We have had the good fortune to hire alums of this program in our restaurant as well as assist the BCCC team in job placement in other restaurants around the city.”

BCCC Summer Saturdays Pop-Up Agern is proud to donate our restaurant space to the BCCC as they host a series of Pop-Up Dinners each Saturday now through August 31st. For more information and to secure a reservation please click here.

To read more about Agern, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Ayna

• WHO: Nihal Sayın & Ezgi Güven, chefs/owners
• WHAT: A small, family-run all-day place cooking homestyle food with a distinctive North Aegean style
• WHERE: Namik Kemal, Carsi cad. No: 22 Cunda Island, Ayvalik, Turkey

“The pillar of our cuisine is olive oil. In Ayvalik olive oil is so important to everyone – and it should be. We cannot describe Mediterranean cuisine without it. So, of course we use local – and the best one. We source from a local family company Kursat, from Ayvalik. It is made from toxic-free hand-picked olives, has perfectly-balanced acidity, and is certificated organic. We use seasonal wild greens as well as foraged herbs. We feel very blessed by the richness of Northern Aegean soil.

“We live and work on a small island, now connected to the main land with a road-bridge. Our resources are limited and we try to respect this limitation in every possible way. Our food waste goes to our friends’ chickens and goats. We reuse the glass water bottles by refilling them with our homemade lemonade and soft drinks. The used tea leaves go to another friends’ garden to be used as organic fertilizer. We use the water responsibly and prefer natural cleaning agents that we make using wild oranges.

“The main provider for the seafood we use in our menu is also our next-door neighbour. We try to work with other independent local fishermen whenever we can and only use seasonal, local seafood. The small amount of meat that we serve comes from our local butcher who also provides us goat meat in season. We prefer not to use chicken meat on our menu as it’s very challenging to find locally-bred free-range chickens. Our cheese comes from a local family diary, small in size and ethical in their approach. They only use milk from their own animals, fed by their own crops.”

To read more about Ayna, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Ayna (Cunda Island, Ayvalik, Turkey)

Dalleth

• WHO: Jonathan Dowling, owner
• WHAT: A ticketed event business offering intimate tasting experiences that utilize wild British produce
• WHERE: 115 Glencoe Road, Kent, UK

“At Dalleth we are really passionate about British heritage and prehistory. As the dining experience evolves this cultural context is becoming more and more prominent. Aside from that we are all passionate about the land we live on and take care to source everything with the care and respect our world deserves. Dalleth’s menus encompass a large amount of foraged vegetation, wild meats and fish, just like our ancestor hunter-gatherers would have. In regards to red meat and dairy products we source these from responsible, caring farmers and avoid anything that would weigh heavily on our conscience.

“Dalleth is a ticketed event business and as a result we know exactly the number of guests to expect at each event. This unique way of operating means we only order what we need. Our food waste is very small in comparison to similar enterprises and we make use of anything left over, such as making infused gins out of leftover fruit and fermenting vegetables and herbs. We utilize all of the animal we can; bones for stock, we render fat to use in cooking and any meat leftover after an event is used to feed staff. We work with suppliers who also do their best to take care of the environment, ensuring that our own efforts are not in vain. Wild food features predominantly in our menu, only harvested, hunted or fished whilst in season and in abundance meaning our impact on the environment is absolutely minimal.”

To read more about Dalleth, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Dalleth (Kent, UK)

M. B. Haskett

• WHO: Michael Haskett, chef/owner
• WHAT: A community deli located in historic downtown Sioux Falls
• WHERE: 324 South Phillips Avenue, Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, South Dakota, USA

“We value sustainability, choosing organic or biodynamically grown when possible for our ingredients. We reduce food waste by making menu items fresh and in small batches. Our flexible menu often allows for the creative use of all parts of the plant or animal. In addition, we compost, recycle, and re-use containers when possible. Using seasonal, local produce is important to us because it not only provides premium quality, but also supports producers in our very community. Our commitment to locality extends beyond just the produce to include paper products, bakery items, coffee – and anything else we can from small community businesses.

“We encourage employees to bike, walk, or take public transportation to work and advocate employee enrichment. I believe that providing the tools and opportunities for education and growth, and empowering my employees to take ownership of the restaurant in every facet – from the creation of menu items to the connections with customers – is key to building a culture that will make our restaurant a success.”

To read more about M. B. Haskett, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

M.B Haskett Delicatessen (Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, South Dakota, USA)

Rising Sun Workshop

• WHO: Nick Smith, chef/co-owner
• WHAT: Sydney’s first communal motorcycle workspace & ramen-inspired restaurant
• WHERE: 1c Whateley Street, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, Australia

“Rising Sun Workshop is both a commercial and social enterprise that would not exist if not for the community that demands it. Born as a reaction to the shrinking spaces of city living, we and our community felt a need to save a small pocket of the neighbourhood as a place where we could work and share our passions and our tools. Simply put, the workshop is designed to be affordable, and in order for that to happen, the bill needs to be picked up somewhere else. In this case it is running a successful hospitality venture as part of the business that could be a venue in its own right.

“We do not support factory farming – what we buy in we buy local, from roasters, smokers, brewers, growers, winemakers and distillers who share our philosophies – our mates. We are a social enterprise that wouldn’t exist if not for resources pooled and donated by the very community that demands it – our members and guests. All fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and eggs used in our kitchen are sourced from within New South Wales. All seafood, beer, spirits and wine (sake an exception) are sourced from Australia. We find the easiest way to ensure this, is to have a direct and personal relationships with the brewers, smokers, bakers, distillers and vintners themselves.”

To read more about Rising Sun Workshop, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Rising Sun Workshop (Sydney, NSW, Australia)

Honest Burgers

• WHO: Tom Barton, Phil Eeles, & Dorian Waite, founders
• WHAT: Great British burgers and rosemary-salted chips
• WHERE: 31 Paddington Street, London, plus other locations

“We work hard every day to make sure the staff at Honest have a product they’re proud to serve, are part of a company they'd tell their mates to work for, and are given the opportunity to learn and grow.

“Opening our butchery has allowed us total control over our beef supply chain, from the small farms of grass-fed cattle in the Scottish Highlands to the plate and we always source free-range chicken for our burgers and wings. We work with Karma Cola, supplying their cola in all of our restaurants and running an annual special – recently raising over £10,000 for their charity supporting the kola nut growers in Sierra Leone.

“Our veggie fritters, iced tea, lemonade, pickles, relish, and Honest sauces are all made by hand, by us. And – of course – our chips too. They're fresh, not frozen. Always. We season them with rosemary salt as soon as they've been fried and then serve them with the burger, for free – just because we think that all burgers should come with chips.”

To read more about Honest Burgers, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Honest-Burgers (London, plus other locations in the UK)

O Navegador

• WHO: Teresa Corção, chef/owner
• WHAT: Brazilian regional sustainable cuisine restaurant located in a 1908 building in downtown Rio
• WHERE: Av Rio Branco 180, Level 6, Rio de Janeiro

“A map of Rio is printed on the menu at O Navegador which shows all of our local producers. This map quickly became so crowded that I needed to make a larger version in order to show all the places our food comes from. We support an NGO called Instituto Maniva, whose office is in one of our rooms. Maniva supports small organic farms and some within the local farmers' market by bringing in Ecochefs™ events to promote them.

“Our wish is to help preserve Brazil’s Amazon rainforest by making a connection with the populations that live there in order to promote fair trade of their sustainable products. That is what Restaurante O Navegador does with the help of Instituto Maniva. Chef Teresa Corção was asked to help promote wild pirarucú with other chefs from Rio. With the support of the US Forest Service and GIZ, two international institutions that sponsor sustainable projects all over the world. Teresa and eight more chefs went to the Amazon to visit the Paumari indigenous tribe – fishermen of pirarucú – the world’s largest freshwater scaled fish. The group stayed there for one week learning about their lives and their pirarucú recipes. It was a life changing experience.”

Learn more and lend your support:

Support the Maniva Institute to encourage the work of farmers, fishermen and chefs, advocates of real food – sustainable, tasty and healthy by visiting their crowd-funding page here.

Learn more about the work of Gosto da Amazônia (Amazon Taste) the conservation of the Pirarucu and its habitat here.

Chef Teresa Corção (L) and fellow Ecochef Maniva, Ana Pedrosa on their trip to the Amazon

Don’t miss Teresa Corção’s delicious Brazil nut, tonka bean with banana chantilly recipe included this week.

To read more about O Navegador, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.