August, 2008

Seeing as we are going to be serving organic food, I think its important to clarify what organic means.

In very basic terms, let’s first look at conventional farming methods:

• Chemical fertilizers are used in the soil to grow their crops
• Insecticides are sprayed to protect crops from pests and disease
• Synthetic herbicides are used to control weed growth
• Animals are confined to indoor cages and sheds, fed artificial food and injected with growth hormones and antibiotics

Now let’s compare that to organic farming:

• Natural Fertilizer such as compost is used to feed soil and build soil matter to grow their crops
• Insect predators, mating disruption, traps and barriers are used to protect crops from pests and disease
• Crop rotation, mechanical tillage and hand-weeding, as well as cover crops, mulches, flame weeding and other management methods are used to control weed growth
• Animals are allowed to roam naturally outside and are fed natural food

And if we are what we eat then common sense tells us, from this simple comparison, that organic farming methods must be better for us – no pesticides, chemicals, hormones or antibiotics.Therefore we strive to bring you the best quality organic ingredients, serving food with superior nutritional value. I will elaborate on the term ‘organic’ in a later post as it is also a very controversial topic.

In addition using organic food, we will be using a variety of ingredients that are familiar to you but also some that may not be so familiar, but have exceptional nutritional benefits. Some of these include:

• Quinoa
• Goji Berries
• Pomegranite
• Acai
• Raw Cacao
• Sprouted grains and beans
• Nut cheese
• Coconut Oil
• Hemp Seeds

Information on all our ingredients and their health benefits will be available on our up-coming website and in our ‘book’ at the restaurant. And we are just as passionate about sharing our knowledge of health enhancing ingredients as we are about preparing high nutritional food!

The Menu

We will use no processed or refined ingredients and everything will be made from scratch by us. The only sweeteners we will use are natural and unrefined. These include agave nectar (from the cactus plant), raw honey and maple syrup. The only salt that we will use will be Celtic Sea Salt and Himalayan Pink Salt both high in natural minerals and the oils we use are chosen for their nutritional benefits.

We will be offering Salads, Wraps, Bowls (noodles, pasta, rice), Juices, Smoothies and some simple breakfast items. The idea is to provide enough variety and something for everyone.

Our menu will include some of our suggestions but an emphasis will be put on ‘Helping Yourself’. This means you get to create your own dish from our listed ingredients. You can create your own salad, wrap or bowl and the variety of ingredients, dressings, sauces and spreads we will be making ensures you always have plenty of options depending on what you are craving.

Our salad bar will be right in front of the large window so you can easily view all our fresh organic ingredients to help you decide what you want. Alternatively you will be able to go to our website to view the ingredients and order right online. Your order will print out in our kitchen so we can immediately start making your meal. More on this to come later!

Check back soon for information on some of the dishes and products we will be making, like our NO MOO ICE…….

Over the next few days I will writing more about our concept and the thoughts behind the restaurant.

First of all though, I think it is fair to say that our restaurant is not just about the food but about a lifestyle. To start with we will be serving organic food and by serving organic food we are immediately raising the questions of what is organic and why organic? When you understand the answers to these questions it automatically raises your awareness to other factors affecting us and the environment we live in. As we become more aware, most of us can’t help but naturally adopt a whole new way of thinking and living; a way that is better for us and better for the environment.

We will be incorporating as many environmentally conscious lifestyle choices as possible into our restaurant, not to make a statement, but just because that is what we believe in, and it wouldn’t be natural for us to do otherwise. Some of these things include:

1. Organic food
2. Local food whenever possible
3. Recycling
4. Composting
5. Biodegradable and compostable to-go containers
6. Earth-friendly, non toxic cleaning supplies
7. Energy saving light bulbs
8. Sustainable building materials
9. Organic cotton and bamboo clothing

And if by being an example, we are able to educate and encourage others to take steps, however small, then thats an added bonus.

Serving organic food doesn’t however mean we are a vegetarian or vegan restaurant or a ‘hippie’ hangout. True, we won’t be serving a huge variety of meat or fish but we will be offering some. Also, we are not here to preach to anyone, to try and tell anyone how they should or shouldn’t eat, all we want to do is to empower consumers with a healthy choice.

The organic sector is the fastest growing segment of the food industry, has been growing 20% each year for the past 10 years and is now making over $11 Billion in sales. And that isn’t because of marketing started by the big corporations, it is because us as consumers are becoming more aware and naturally changing our choices. However eating healthier in our busy lives is still relatively inaccessible and restaurants serving organic healthy choices are in the minority. We aim to fill this gap by providing natural, organic, healthy food, that tastes great, is fun, easily accessible and appeals to everyone.

829 Fleming Street, Key West, Florida
Corner of Fleming and Margret

The future home of the first Help Yourself !

829 Fleming is an interesting spot. Once an old gas station, it now houses a Laundromat and a kitchen/restaurant. Whilst the laundromat has remained in place for many years the restaurant has changed hands a multitude of times. For some reason no one seems to have made it there. Every few years some else gives it a go; the name gets changed, the menu gets changed, some décor gets changed, they open their doors, and the neighborhood watches and waits. Now it’s my turn.

Some would say it’s not a good sign to see so many failed before me, but I have a feeling this time will be different. Too confident? Not at all, I am a firm believer of positive thinking! Besides, with the help of Paul Menta, an experienced restaurateur, we are bringing something to Key West that Key West is ready for – a reason to eat!

As we transform from what it was into what it will be, and as we wait for our real website to be built, we thought this blog would be a great opportunity to share and document our progress for anyone intrigued enough to follow!

This blog starts I would say pretty much right in the middle of our progress. We signed the lease back in July and we plan to open end of September.

The following are some photos before we started any work:

Step 1 was to rip down the black construction you can see all round the roof in the very top picture. This was a plywood railway track put up several businesses before.

Step 2 was to gut the interior and get rid of all the equipment so we had a blank canvas to work with. With an empty space all that remained was a thick layer of grease and grime on everything. No offense to the previous businesses but they all involved a lot of greasy fried food and the evidence was left behind.

Step 3 was cleaning. This included scrubbing the walls and ripping up 3 layers of floor tiles, each layer harboring a generation of grease, dirt and roaches it seemed. This was a tough job as the stench alone was enough to make your stomach churn. But we were glad we did it once we had cleared it back to the bare concrete. I have to thank Paul and our friend Eric for undertaking most of this task!

Step 4 was painting the interior. We turned the walls from a dirty aqua blue to a bright green – have you noticed we like green?! The concrete floor was sealed then painted a light brown.

Step 5 was painting the outside. We chose the same green as the interior because green represents what we are about and of course we want to stand out and be seen!

There is still a lot more to do on the building that day by day will get finished. But in addition to all the physical labor, which we are doing ourselves, there is of course all the ‘other stuff’ that comes with starting up a business. A very good friend of mine always says “everyday a hundred things”. How right he is!