Great Kosher Restaurant Foodies recently spoke with Chef Moti Lebovich who is helping the Gowanus, Brooklyn restaurant go more green while producing amazing produce.  This is what he had to say:

The garden, on the rooftop of the restaurant, was built as a hydroponic garden but then we decided to transform it to aquaponics (a marriage of hydroponics and aquaculture). Replica Bell & Ross Watches

What this means is that it's a closed system in which aquatic animals (goldfish in this case) live in the water and fertilize the plants while the plants in turn eat the waste and clean the water for the fish. This produces a very healthy plant, vibrant in color and aroma in half of the time it will take in soil. Having the plants growing in a soilless substrate prevents root entailment and "fighting" for nutrients, resulting in a much larger number of plants grown in the same space. It is the exact same technology that was used in Gush Katif but taken one step further. Any plant can be grown in this fashion.

It's fully automated and needs minimal supervision. Practically all there is to do is throw in seeds and harvest your salads, tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, eggplants, zucchini, watermelon...... The garden on Bison and Bourbon is already growing two kinds of mint for their amazing chef and talented mixologists at the bar, 3 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, wild zucchini, dessert thyme, rosemary, a cornucopia of mesclun greens, parsley, cilantro, lemon sage, Israeli cucumbers, sweet basil, opal basil and many other goodies.

The ability to harvest at such proximity to the kitchen provides unparalleled freshness and quality as well as ZERO waste that we are all too accustomed to by seeing herbs and greens turn black in the fridge a day after purchase. It just makes sense.

Bison and Bourbon is located at: 191 7th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Chef Lebovich, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, is currently a private chef and restaurant consultant for clients ranging from Manhattan to the Hamptons. He has worked at the Blue Water Grill, Megu New York, The Belveder Mansion as well TriColor in Eilat Israel. He has a Masters in Food Studies from NYU with an emphasis of Sociology, Anthropology and history through the mirror of food.