Joel Martin's Go Green Creed

Joel Martin walks his talk. Many Frenchmen do. Martin, however, lives up to the stereotypical picture of the quintessential French chef. With white chef's coat perfectly soiled, Martin is the Maestro of his Bistro. During a busy lunch he will be roaming the postage stamp plus sized dining room rearranging tables, presenting food, describing menu selections and complimenting guests with small plates of homemade canard pate. Delightful. He also jumps into the open kitchen when needed to complete the showmanship that French chefs are known for.

In the vast world of chains, concepts and themes, The Butler and the Chef on historic South Park has carved out a little corner of serenity amongst the bustle we know as food. Delving deeper into Martin's presence, we find that he is one of the growing number of "go green" advocates in the industry. His food products are organic and local. His style is slow food focused. Upon reviewing his website, I came across the Go Green Creed which he lives by on a daily basis. I thought I would post it for those who need it.

If more restaurateurs walked the talk as Martin does food would be of a higher quality, service would be more professional, dining rooms would once again be friendly, owners would be less stressed and the planet would be around long enough for restaurant owners to get their houses in order.

The Go Green Creed-

• To comply with all applicable regulations and strive to exceed compliance.
• To discuss environmental issues regularly at the highest levels of the company.
• To conserve energy, water, materials and other resources.
  To reduce waste to a minimum and to recycle materials to the maximum.
• To aim for zero waste generation at source. Materials will be reused and recycled to minimize need for waste treatment or disposal and to conserve resources.
• To avoid pollution of air, land and water wherever possible.
• To recognize that wasting energy causes avoidable pollution.
  To improve the working environment.
• To train and regularly consult employees on good environmental practices.
• To seek to achieve environmental excellence in all our business operations.
• To liaise with suppliers and customers to facilitate the best possible environmental practices, and promote the recycling of materials as well as energy and water conservation.
• To be an environmentally responsible business within our community.
• To strive for continuous improvement.

We all may want to post this in a few obvious places.