January brings a lot of hope and change… and resolutions. For many, it’s a time to focus on health and nutrition. When I think of healthy eating, I often picture a salad… and if you’re like me, there are only so many salads I can eat until I get bored. Until I found Bistro Green, that is.
Say hello to Stephanie Graham, owner and salad creator extraordinaire. Not only are her salads (and occasionally offered amazing soups, and special order charcuterie boards) delicious and affordable, she also delivers right to your doorstep.
Tell us a little bit about yourself, and your culinary background.
I moved here from the Napa Valley where I was a private chef, owned an event production company and most recently worked as the culinary director for the Napa Valley Film Festival.
How did you end up in Middle Tennessee?
Our family got a little nudge from above that Tennessee was the place for us. When we lost our home to a California wildfire, moving was the balm our souls needed. We miss California, but we LOVE it here!
How did Bistro Green begin?
My daughter and I came to visit before we moved to Tennessee and filled up on all the yummy southern food there is to offer. By day three, we both were feeling it and needed something fresh and healthy. Finding a good salad proved to be difficult and I jokingly said, “If I ever open a restaurant here, it’s going to be all about salads!”
The pandemic struck and I needed a creative outlet after the Napa Valley Film Festival canceled. On my very first day of deliveries, my husband lost his job also due to covid cutbacks and I turned this outlet into a real business.
Do you make your own dressings?
I do! Every single dressing is from scratch. The wild child in me doesn’t make or test the dressing until the day before delivery. I post the menu, buy ingredients and then figure out what I’m doing right there on the spot. I’m like a mad scientist in the kitchen and don’t use any recipes. I throw things in until it tastes good!
Which is your all time favorite salad? And other than salad, what’s your favorite food?
I have a tie between two: the watermelon salad with jalapeño honey lime vinaigrette and the cantaloupe salad with cardamom coconut dressing. The cantaloupe one was so good, it almost made me cry.
My favorite foods are anything in season. Or ice cream- that’s always in season.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I do love making salads. The experience for sure brings that creative outlet for which I was seeking. But I love my customers more. I believe that feeding people is a sacred service. When stripped down to the basic principle, cooking is nourishing people. The love is in the food. That I get to do that every day is miraculous.
How to Order Bistro Green:
Follow Stephanie on Instagram, and when she releases her salads, get your fingers ready to DM her your order, and address. Then send payment to her Venmo.
Instagram:
@Bistro_Green
Venmo:
@Stephanie-Graham-13
