An Interview With Martita Mestey
Stick to your morals. We’ve had so many people try to convince us to switch to non organic ingredients to cut costs, but we simply would never do that. At the end of the day it feels so good to do business with integrity.
In this interview series, called “Chefs and Restaurateurs Helping To Promote Healthy Eating” we are talking to chefs and restaurateurs who are helping to promote and raise awareness about healthy eating. The purpose of the series is to amplify their message and share insights about healthy eating with our readers. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Alex Mazzucca & Cara Duerr.
Alex & Cara, the chefs, nutritionists, and visionaries behind Seed to Sprout, have turned their passion for plant-based cuisine into one of the most celebrated brands on the Jersey Shore. Seed to Sprout, located in Avon-by-the-Sea is a must-visit destination for food lovers nationwide. Known for their inventive, flavor-forward dishes and welcoming atmosphere, their restaurant draws in both vegans and non-vegans alike. Their success has even caught the attention of Food Network’s Guy Fieri, who featured them on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, praising their food as “delicious” and calling them true “pioneers” in the plant-based culinary scene.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know’ you a bit. Can you share with our readers a story about what inspired you to become a restauranteur or chef?
Growing up in Italian families with moms and grandmas, who cooked everything from scratch, inspired us to use food to express our love. Over the years we infused our love of food with our passion for nutrition. We really believe in the importance of nourishing our bodies from the ground up, and this begins with the foods we eat. This is really what brought Seed to Sprout to life and inspires us daily still.
Do you have a specific type of food that you focus on? What was it that first drew you to cooking that type of food? Can you share a story about that with us?
Kale is for sure the backbone of Seed to Sprout! From our juices to giant salads, it’s an absolute staple in both our diets and the Seed to Sprout kitchen. Our marinated greens are forever our most popular menu item and the thing that people ask us for the recipe most. It’s also a nutritional powerhouse in the vegan diet and is loaded with plant based iron and calcium.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that has happened to you since you started? What was the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
Being featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives was by far the most epic and surreal experience of our careers so far. Seeing our little restaurant on the big screen was a real dream come true. Even after 12 years, you never know what can happen. 🙂
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
Our families have always been our number 1 cheerleaders and supporters. Without them, none of this would even be possible. From day one, our parents have been the first to grab a seat at our pop up dinners before we were even open, and can’t even go to a doctor’s appointment without spreading the word. And now that we are moms, our children are our biggest inspirations — this is all for them!
In your experience, what is the key to creating a dish that people are crazy about?
It’s all about the flavor and not being afraid of adding salt… especially when it’s good quality sea salt. It’s always been our mission to make food as clean as it is delicious, so for us that means bringing in tons of spices and seasoning to make sure plants are never boring. And we might have just ONE secret ingredient that is bursting with flavor… our beloved nutritional yeast.
Personally, what is the ‘perfect meal’ for you?
Honestly, a giant bowl of marinated greens with some of our tahini dressing, hemp seeds and homemade sauerkraut. Perfection. We are both pretty simple creatures at heart, and stick with what makes us feel the most nourished.
Where does your inspiration for creating come from? Is there something that you turn to for a daily creativity boost?
It’s honestly impossible for us to stop coming up with ideas and inspiration! Once we come together it’s basically an idea explosion. Sometimes we wish we could give ourselves a break for a little while 😉 But if there ever is a time that we are in need of a bit of inspiration, we head to NYC for a really solid plant based meal.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? What impact do you think this will have?
We are deep in the throes of officially writing our first cookbook and we couldn’t be more excited! It’s been a long time coming and we are so excited for people around the country (maybe even world!) to have their hands on Seed to Sprout classics. Our goal has always been to get people to explore this type of lifestyle at home, and we are thrilled to be able to help people along their journeys.
Ok super. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. You are currently leading an initiative to help promote healthy eating. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?
Our main mission is to show people that plant based food can be just as or even more delicious than any other food. You don’t have to sacrifice flavor for quality of ingredients ever. It’s always also been important to us to show people that a plant based lifestyle can be easy and approachable and that it doesn’t have to be intimidating.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
We actually both went vegetarian when we were 17 and had to start cooking meals for ourselves. Getting inspired to learn about the healing aspects behind the foods we were eating really fueled our fire. There was no denying how much better we felt and we wanted to share it with as many people as possible.
Without saying specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was helped by your cause?
We literally have a letter pinned on our cookboard in our office from a customer who had a serious cancer diagnosis and was advised by her doctor to switch to an organic plant based diet. She thanked Seed to Sprout for giving her the options and making it easy for her to incorporate these foods in her daily life. This is what it’s all about for us.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
We pray that one day the leaders in our community will care more about the quality of foods being served in our public systems — like hospitals, public schools, and even prisons. Planting the seed of educating people on the true importance of nutrition and healthy eating, could empower the community in amazing ways.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started as a Chef or Restaurateur” and why?
- It’s going to be a grind. Every time we think things are about to slow down and we are going to get a break, life has a completely different idea in mind. There are simply no days off in restaurant life.
- Hire a good accountant immediately. Trust us, it’s much easier to do this from the start, than have to play catch up at any point.
- Trust your instincts fully. No idea is too crazy. We’ve opened (and closed) various other locations through the years, created product lines in Whole Foods, and reinvented our menu countless times. We are constantly learning from our own trials and tribulations.
- Don’t let negative feedback bring you down. We always appreciate and value our customers’ input, but remember for every bad review there are probably going to be five great ones.
- Stick to your morals. We’ve had so many people try to convince us to switch to non organic ingredients to cut costs, but we simply would never do that. At the end of the day it feels so good to do business with integrity.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Honestly, we’d love to have more time with the one and only Guy Fieri. We had SO much fun in the kitchen with him and would love to sit down and pick his brain on so many things. And maybe even get him to taste more of our food.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
We just launched our brand new website! Find us at www.seedtosproutnj.com 🙂 You can also find us on Instagram @seedtosprout.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
How Alex Mazzucca & Cara Duerr Of ‘Seed to Sprout’ Are Helping To Promote Healthy Eating was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.