About 3 months ago we were offered a rebate program from NSTAR through National Resources Management, the rebate was for about 70% of the cost of the project and an offer to finance the 30% at no interest. Our new system will save an average of $400 per year in electricity and works by turning the evaporator to run 25% to 80% less saving electricity and reducing compressor run time. For more info visit www.nrminc.com

Through a matching program we are pleased to announce that 100% of the energy we will be using from December 2011 on will be Renewable from NewMix Wind Source and provided by Constellation Energy. This change represents an great step in our continuing effort to build a more sustainable hospitality industry. As of today we are also looking forward to our ISO 14001 certification, http://www.constellation.com/EnergyMatters/RenewableEnergy/Pages/RenewableEnergyOverview.aspx

For a while we have been using Morgan Linen Service as our laundry service for the restaurant. Our decision to change companies is part of the process of greening our restaurant also from the upstream side. We want to support providers that have considered certifications or have achieve certain accolades for their Eco-friendly work. Morgan is a Certified  Laundry Environmental Stewardship Program. Some of the results of the program are 40% reduction of pollutants discharged, 13% reduction of water used, 11% reduction of energy usage, and significant substitution of environmentally friendly wash chemicals. To learn more about LESP go to http://www.laundryesp.com/media.asp

Yesterday Taranta hosted one of many seminars that The Educational Foundation of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association offers. The seminar was geared to restaurant owners that were interested on saving energy and benefiting form various rebate programs available for small Business. Sponsored by MassSave in junction with renew Boston and the Sustainable Business Network. Presenters were Michael Pace, Lead Engineer from National Grid, Lisa Hadaya from NSTAR, Joseph Walsh, Manager of Renew Boston, and Jose Duarte of Taranta.

Every year MassRecycle recognizes a select group of individuals, businesses, municipalities and organizations for their leadership and innovation in promoting recycling and waste reduction by presenting them with the “Green Binnie’ Recycling Award. Winners are selected through a peer review process and Taranta was selected among all the nominees because of the significant contribution  made to increase recycling and reducing waste. We are proud to received this award as it motivates us to continuing with our Ecofriendly efforts.

Last Monday we did our first field trip with our Staff to the place we send our recyclable products, food waste and biodegradables.  Our restaurant Staff has been separating all the waste and as a part of the process of understanding the reason why we do that, I decided to organize a field trip visiting Save That Stuff in Charlestown  and Brick End Farms in North Hamilton. We met Adam Mitchell  Ian Lavery giving us a tour of the facility and were amazed by the amount of cardboard and paper waste that can be recycled, as well as plastic,  glass and metal.  We drove about 1/2 hour and arrived to Brick Ends Farm, a site that receives all the food waste, yard trimmings,  etc. We learned how they “cook” compost, using wood chips and yard wast on a 1 to 1 ratio with restaurant food waste, they mix it and turn it for about 10 months and the result is a very nutritious compost that is used in Agriculture and Landscaping. During the process thermophilic microorganisms generate  heat that  can reach up to 160 F. We met Mike, a farmer that leases land at Brick Ends and utilizes the compost to nurture his crops, his farm First Light Farm was the highlight of our experience, meeting him and walking the fields literally eating fennel, carrots, second sprout broccoli and kale was just amazing. We couldn’t resist to ask him if  we could harvest some Leeks, Carrots, Celery, Cilantro and Fennel and bring it back to the restaurant. After this very educational experience we understand the importance of what we do and how good it make us feel!!  Next… an experiment cooking in the compost pile using Sous Vide Bags, perhaps a some short ribs, cooked over 10 hours….. If anyone is ever interested on organizing a trip to visit the Farm, and have lunch or early dinner with products from the farm just let us know, we will be more that happy to arrange this for you.

Carapelli Olive Oil and their all natural and Organic oils are supporting our Earth Day Celebration at Taranta. From April 22 to April 25, we have designed a 4 course tasting menu featuring Carapelli, cost per person in $49 not including beverages, tax and gratuity. All table must participate and reservations are required. For menu information click here

We have changed our Natura machine for a Naturizzata Italian water filtration system by Sidea, we had some issues with Natura and we were approached by Atlas Water System that is representing the Naturizzata machines, producing the best alternative to bottled water. No carbon footprint, we reuse the bottles and the system has a UV Light that assures a delicious taste. A super sustainable product, besides saving space and eliminating the recycling of a glass bottle, the system is a win win for a restaurant. For more information about the system click here

As this Blog serves as a tool to inform you of all the Eco-friendly changes we made, results and savings, I feel I also have to let everybody know of what works and what does not. We decided to use Takagi, during the sizing and equipment selection Takagi and the Plumber undersized the unit, having to remove a TM1 and install 3 TK3′s. The cost of the undersized unit was going to be reimbursed to me by Takagi in means of parts or other equipment, a total of $1,850.   We installed 3  TK3 units and one of them stop working 2 weeks ago. I tried to reach the TAKAGI regional office in New Jersey and the Senior Tech Mr. Mike Little who knew about the exchange issue never returned calls, Same thing with Mr. Jeff Young from J&K Sales in New Hampshire, their local rep. I called the plumber that installed the units and he said he will not service TAKAGI any longer as they are not being responsible for the product guarantee and there is no more “guarantee” the product. We bought them apparently with a 5 year guarantee. I was finally put in contact with TAKAGI Corporate and their customer service department and I was told they were not responsible for the equipment exchange! The customer service rep argued that it was someone else’s fault, besides being rude and not helpful. Now I am not only left with a minus $1,850 but with cold water and a broken heater that no plumber wants to service, as plumbers claim they are too complicated to fix and parts are not available and expensive. I have done about 15 public and private presentations “promoting” Takagi and explaining their technology, some of them for National Grid and the National Restaurant Association, besides using them as an example for TV and media pieces including Kraft Foodservice.  I am not happy about the way Takagi handled this situation!

Learned about this product trough the Green Restaurant Association Newsletter, the hand spray gun uses tap water and utilizes a charge from a battery pack that is rechargeable.  The principle is to “Activate” the water with ions and nano stuff, a complicated process that is explained in detail on their website www.activeion.com. Tap water is converted into a powerful cleaning and sanitizing solution that kills 99.9% of bacteria!! We intend to eliminate the use of bleach, ammonia, windex, etc etc, We will use to clean surfaces, windows, furniture, and to sanitize working spaces in our kitchen. Probably one of the most revolutionary eco friendly  cleaning products I have ever purchased. It is not a cheap product, it goes for about $300 but adding all the cleaning products we buy and we consume the cost indicates immediate return on the investment. And also there is a whole environmental benefit behind using it, not only because is not toxic but because we are becoming more sustainable by not having to bring more products that go through manufacture, packaging, transportation, and all the energy used to be produced until arrives to your restaurant.