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Emeril Goes Green in Vermont

Hardwick, Vermont - September 17, 2009

In Hardwick and surrounding towns something exciting is taking root.

"It's continuing to grow and coming to a crescendo now," said Tom Stearns with High Mowing Organic Seeds.

It's the idea of growing local and buying local. In the past decade several businesses have started and revitalized the area, like Pete's Greens, High Mowing Organic Seeds and the Vermont Soy Company.

"We have a collaborative effort of small businesses that are really focused on food and agriculture and we are trying to define an economy based on that," explained Andrew Meyer with Vermont Soy.

A local food chain getting attention from a famous chef-- Emeril Lagasse. A name familiar to some but not all. When asked if he had heard of Emeril before Meyer said, "To be honest no, I hadn't, but once I saw his picture I did recognize him and after meeting him he's very genuine."

Emeril and crew are in Vermont for a week to film the show, Emeril Green. It focuses on sustainable living. Show producers found out about the region from a New York Times article.

"It's unbelievable," said Emeril, on a brief break from cooking. "You have seeds, then soil, then the farm and you have the cheese and microbreweries... it's unbelievable."

A splash of Hollywood taking over the hills of Greensboro. Emeril visited half a dozen businesses and then invited everyone over for a dinner party at the Lakeview Inn in Greensboro with all the food made from the places he checked out.

"That will be fun to see what he ends of making with our tofu," said Andrew Meyer.

Emeril Lagasse: "The abundance of incredible products here is so exciting, people should be really, really proud about what's happening around here because it's really a serious movement."

The chef fell in love with the flavors and the idea behind it. He says local is the future, helping the local economy and the environment.

"When you have great ingredients cooking it is pretty simple," explained the top-notch chef.

The Emeril Green series will feature an hour show, plus three half hour shows all dedicated to Vermont, potentially providing a big boost to these local businesses.

"I think this is due to come out in January which is a perfect time for a seed company to be getting more attention," said Tom Stearns.

Andrew Meyer: "Certainly we hope we sell a lot more tofu around the world."

The shows about Vermont are set to air in January next year on the "Planet Green Network" which is affiliated with the Discovery Channel.

Kristin Carlson - WCAX News