Vegan Bed and Breakfasts
A Spotlight on Vegan Companies and Business
by M. 'Butterflies' Katz
Other Categories:
Vegan Bed and Breakfasts:
The Lodge Grenada is a completely vegan establishment. All products used on the property are vegan. The owners are vegan. "Our staff is not necessarily vegan but the staff meals are vegan. Out of work our staff are entitled to do as their conscience dictates, we are not in control of their minds, any thing else would be discriminatory." say the owners. They've been in business for 4 years offering a vegan experience in the Caribbean, which offers panoramic views of hills, valleys, rainforest, mountains, the Caribbean Sea, sunsets and sunrises. It is owned and operated by Mary Hardy (vegetarian since childhood and became vegan 17 years ago) and Mark Hardy (vegetarian for 22 years and then vegan 17 years ago). They say they are vegan because it is a logical progression from being vegetarian that was helped by lactose intolerance. Some words from Mary and Mark: "We have a vegan garden and grow most of our own veg' and fruit on the land. We harvest rainwater, use solar hot water, and have a non chemical swimming pool. We've planted over two hundred trees and we offer the only vegan hotel in the Caribbean."
The Lodge, P.O. Box 3540, St. Georges Grenada, West Indies
Phone: +001 (473) 440 2330
Web site: www.thelodgegrenada.com
E-mail: thelodge@spiceisle.com
****
The White Pig Bed & Breakfast & Animal Sanctuary at Briar Creek Farm is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is a vegan oasis in central Virginia. It is owned by Dina Brigish, a vegan for 11 years and a vegetarian for 25 years. The other staff member is vegetarian, almost vegan. The Inn opened it's doors in November 2001 for vegan over night lodging & meals. "We also are an animal sanctuary. We are a private sanctuary and rely solely on the success of the bed and breakfast to support the sanctuary. It also provides necessary funding that protects the countless wildlife that call Briar Creek Farm their home and protects their land from development and sport hunting" says Dina. Dina has been a vegetarian since her early teens and became an animal activist after co-founding Syracuse University for Animal Rights while attending Syracuse University. She received her first potbellied pig as a gift from her mother and named him "Norman." Norman would later become the namesake and inspiration for The White Pig B & B. Shortly after Norman arrived, Brigish became a vegan. After deciding that a city life was not suitable for a pig, she (and husband Hal) purchased a home for Norman where he would have a backyard to play. Not long after Olive, Jacob & finally Willoughby were rescued (from abandonment and abuse) to complete the herd. In 1997, Dina left her successful career in fashion to pursue her dream of incorporating a vegan lifestyle, rescuing animals and a career all in one. After much deliberation, she decided to open a vegan farm bed and breakfast. But first she needs to hone her cooking skills. She attended The Natural Gourmet Cookery School in Manhattan and then interned at Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco. After returning to New York, she continued her search up and down the east coast for the perfect farm to open her inn. It took roughly three years but in 2000, Dina's vision of a rural farm, with a historic home, in quiet and beautiful location, but close to an 'open minded city' was found at Briar Creek Farm just outside the City of Charlottesville. The White Pig is a tribute to Norman (and Dina's other 12 pigs) and a vegan lifestyle. It also looks to introduce non- vegans to delicious vegan cuisine and maybe shed a new light on the wonderful, sensitive and intelligent creature we call THE PIG.
The White Pig Bed and Breakfast is located at 5120 Irish Road, Schuyler, Virginia 22969
Phone: (434) 831-1416
Web site: www.thewhitepig.com
E-mail: info@thewhitepig.com
****
Chez Philippe is a 100% vegan and organic bed and breakfast located in Montreal, Canada. The owner is a vegan of three years. Their accommodation service uses no wool, leather or animal products, but instead uses vegan organic soap and shampoo in the bathrooms, and environmentally friendly, non-animal tested cleaning products. All breakfasts are cooked using plant-based ingredients. Breakfast menus include specialties such as waffles, crepes, fruits puddings and fruit mousse, along with fair-trade teas and coffee. As much as possible organic produce are used in the preparation of the breakfast dishes. Non-vegetarian guests enjoy the food and are amazed to discover what can be prepared without eggs or dairy.
Chez Philippe is located at:
2457,
rue Ste-Catherine E,
Montreal,
QC H2K 2J9
Canada
Phone: (514) 890-1666
E-mail: phn@sympatico.ca
Web site: www.chezphilippe.info
****
Sweet Thyme Inn serves exclusively vegan meals (no animal products) and is located in Green Bank, a very rural, mountainous region in Pocahontas County on the east coast of West Virginia. It is managed by Patricia Merithew who has been totally vegan for about 13 years. "I had been leaning towards vegetarian for many years before health reasons demanded I either solve my problems naturally or 'go under the knife' as was being suggested. My brother-in-law owned a health food store in Michigan and with his knowledge I cleaned up my eating act. We saw/experienced a need for a pleasant destination (in the eastern half of the states) for those of us who had to travel with 'frig in vehicle' just to be sure we would have food to eat. This and several other factors further motivated the four of us - me, my husband (Chuck), sister (Kathleen) and brother-in-law (Ron) to get away from city life and head to Hancock, Vermont where we established the Sweet Onion Inn, a totally vegan establishment. After five years in Vermont we left Kathy and Ron behind (they manage the Sweet Onion Inn yet today) and moved (primarily to be closer to our son and grandchildren) to the mountains of W.V. in the most rural county we could find and established our inn with the same 'vegan' format. We opened the Inn to guests in March of 2000. We have only four rooms and do not regularly employ others. My husband Chuck could be described as 'does his best to follow vegan lifestyle' but is not as committed to the total picture as I am. We find ourselves among hunters and meat eaters but know our neighbors to be gracious and open to usbest vegan. On a higher note, she concludes by saying, "We hope we are contributing to a gentler world by inviting others to think about what they eat in a way that is more humane to animals, people and our world. Many of our guests are 'vegetarians' and are most interested in how and why they might/should take that further step to eliminate all animal products from their diets. Sometimes an entire family will stay with us because a teenage child has made the decision to 'not eat animals'. As restaurants are few in the immediate area, others who are willing to try dinner with us for a night, invariably say something like - "The meal was certainly not as bland as I thought it would be" or "I wouldn't mind this food all the time if I could cook like this". We enjoy being some kind of a bridge to a 'gentler world'.
Phone: (304) 456-5535
E-mail: info@sweetthymeinn.com
Web site: www.sweetthymeinn.com
M. 'Butterflies' Katz is the co-author of Incredibly Delicious; Recipes for a New Paradigm which is published by Gentle World www.gentleworld.org
|
