Omaha restaurant owners to give Renaissance Lecture April 6

Bernadette Martens Chapman ’99 and Clayton Chapman will deliver the 2017 Renaissance Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 6, in room 204, Gorecki Center, College of Saint Benedict.

The couple, who are owners of The Grey Plume Restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, will speak on “The Meals We Share: A Chef’s Journey Through Mindfulness, Meaning and Mania.” Clayton Chapman is also the chef at The Grey Plume.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is part of CSB’s Week of Sustainability April 3-7. In addition to their keynote address, the Chapmans will be participating in food- and community-themed events during their visit, as well as joining classes on entrepreneurship and environmental policy.

The Grey Plume is one of the country’s most sustainable restaurants. It is “devoted to creating innovative cuisine on the forefront of modern culinary art, while also maintaining traditional culinary roots in showcasing the food source and practicing a no-waste attitude in every respect of the restaurant’s operation,” according to the restaurant’s website.

The restaurant opened in 2010, and received the top ranking in “America’s Greenest Restaurants of 2015” by The Daily Meal magazine. It was also the first restaurant in the world to meet the SustainaBuild Standard. Over the years, it has received more points than any other Certified Green Restaurant for its dedication to green initiatives.

Aspects of The Grey Plume which have led to its national acclaim are a recycled barn wood floor in the dining room and bar, bread plates created out of recycled wine bottles, sinks set to a flow rate of a half-gallon per minute, a 98 percent thermal efficiency in hot water heater and zero usage of VOC paints.

Additionally, The Grey Plume uses only seasonally driven, contemporary cuisine derived from produce and livestock raised on local farms and businesses that share the same dedication to sustainable and healthy practices.

In July 2016, msn.com named it the best restaurant in Nebraska. 

The Renaissance Lecture Series was established in 2006 to bring speakers to CSB who "demonstrate the diversity of opportunities available for women and men and to encourage them to broaden their horizons in every respect, particularly in areas that are less traditional for the respective genders."

Speakers for this series are chosen based on their unique, compelling point of view on a current topic and their potential to enhance the intellectual vigor of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University.