By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Chris Albrecht, the executive chef at Eno Terra in Kingston, is all about making good food. He’s also concerned about the environment, the reason why he lent his culinary skills for a fundraiser last week that blended those two interests.
Chefs from six greater Princeton area restaurants collaborated on a five-course meal on Thursday to support Sustainable Jersey, a certification program that encourages New Jersey municipalities to go green. A crowd of 120 people, paying $150 a ticket, feasted on scallops, salad and other delectables at Terhune Orchards, the 200-acre farm of former Lawrence Mayor Pam Mount and her husband, Gary.
Mr. Elbrecht explained that Ms. Mount approached him about doing a dinner, an idea he embraced. He said he wanted to get other chefs involved.
”We wanted to find restaurants that are already like-minded with regard to sustainability and really that are interested in playing with farm-fresh ingredients,” Mr. Albrecht said, not far from where scallops were sizzling in a pan.
Aside from Eno Terra, the others included Tre Piani, Elements, Witherspoon Grill, Blue Point Grill and the Bent Spoon.
Guests arrived for wine and hors d’oeuvres, before walking over to dinner. A team of 20 volunteers helped bring in the food and drinks, namely Terhune Orchard’s apple wine that was getting rave reviews from the guests. All the fruit and vegetables used in the meals came from the Mounts’ farm.
”Terhune Orchards is a place that exemplifies a lot of the values that we’re trying to have municipalities do through Sustainable Jersey,” said Randall Solomon, a codirector of Sustainable Jersey. “The food, the flowers and the vegetables and the products they produce are all produced local so that the environmental impact of all that food is as small as it can possibly be.”
Ms. Mount, the chairwoman of Sustainable Jersey’s board, makes her living off the earth. She and her husband have operated the farm since 1975, land that they put into the state farmland preservation program. They also use eco-friendly methods, including having solar panels on the roof of the red barn where dinner was served.
”We really felt from the very beginning that unless we were stewards of this land and unless we did things right, it wouldn’t be viable for the next generation,” she said.
In essence, that is what environmental activists mean when they talk of “sustainability,” defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development as meeting current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
”Even in the ice cream world, sustainability is so important,” said Deb Carbon of the Bent Spoon. “With every flavor, we can go with the seasons and support all the local farms. So anything from basil to herbs to strawberries, we are able to make seasonal items right through the fall.
Created in 2009, Sustainable Jersey is collaboration between state government, the Board of Public Utilities, the College of New Jersey and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. Interested towns participate by agreeing to perform specific actions, like having a community garden or making municipal buildings more energy efficient, that Sustainable Jersey has specified.
As an incentive, Sustainable Jersey makes grants available to its member towns, who also get priority for state funding. In all, 375 out of the 566 New Jersey municipalities are registered, according to Sustainable Jersey. Versions of Sustainable Jersey have started in Maryland and Taiwan.

