Chef David Bouley thinks every home should have a "living pantry" and for himself and his restaurants be built Bouley Botanical in New York City.
Bouley Botanical, at 281 Church St., is primarily an indoor farm with fresh herbs and vegetables, but the space serves several other purposes.
The largest bio-dynamic greenhouse in New England hosts banquets and events, in addition to functioning as a learning center for lectures, readings, music and arts shows.
The details behind the place are pretty neat — learn some of those while you browse the photos.
Bouley's goal has always been to serve food at its most nutritious and delicious stage. In preparing to create Bouley Botanical, the chef consulted the farmers he'd been working with for years to supply ingredients to his restaurants. He also spoke to friends and doctors he has met, including Cornell University's Dr. Ray Glahn, Nutritionist Gary Null, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Keith Berkowitz, Dr. Oz Garcia and Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez.
Bouley used his own garden as a laboratory, testing soils and growing conditions. He then applied what he learned to 28 growing boxes in the windows of Bouley Botanical. More than 70 edible herbs and vegetables grow in food grade stainless steel clad in pure copper. A 16-foot "living" wall system, with approximately 140 plants of its own, irrigates the others. LED lighting provides artificial sunlight.
The soil is 100 percent organic. It's a combination of compost from certified organic herbs and greens and a blend of pine bark and peat moss. Each box has its own symbiotic growing environment. The plan is to grow everything all year round. Eventually, the herbs grown there will be freeze dried and sold with soil so that others can have a "living pantry."
The space is very customizable for events. LED lights in the space can be colored and it has state of the art sound and video to go along with seating and decorations. It comfortably accommodates parties of 8 to 100 people seated private dining events and receptions for up to 150 people. Reservations for the space can be made here.
The kitchen is also professionally wired for sound and video making it a great place for producing videos and hosting cooking classes.
To learn more about David Bouley and his restaurants and projects, visit his website: davidbouley.com
