Former McDonald's Honchos Take On Sustainable Cuisine

What we aim to do at Lyfe is that it's fresh

It's fresh, it's seasonal, and a lot of it's local.

I have never opened a restaurant without chicken.

The reality is, most fried chicken you

don't wanna eat every day because then you look

like a big chicken, okay?

It's locally sourced chicken, right?

[Jeremy] It's locally sourced chicken,

instead of deep frying, we bread it and bake it,

so we have all the comforts of Southern cooking.

Right, we use the whole-wheat panko and we roast

it in the oven as opposed to frying it.

There's no deep-fat fryer in this kitchen whatsoever,

doesn't exist, correct?

[Jeremy] Yep.

With any great dish, of course the protein's important,

but what's really important is the sides for it.

Well the asparagus we're cutting on a daily basis

so it's fresh, it's raw, we're cooking from scratch

at the time the order's placed.

The potatoes and the parsnips are roasted today,

they're okay if we use them tomorrow,

so one or two days shelf life on the line.

So you added some capers in there, and

you added some what, oregano salt?

Oregano peppercorn spice.

Okay, so we're gonna add the parsnips.

These are fingerling potatoes that we,

what we do is we cheat a little bit,

we pre-roast them, which cuts down on the cooking time.

Everyone loves a gravy.

What's great about this gravy is

it doesn't have cream.

It doesn't have any dairy in it

but what it does have in it,

it has cashew milk.

What is cashew milk?

Well it's cashews that are soaked in water

then pureed, which yields a wonderful,

delicious flavor that actually mimics cream.

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It's a technology that enables us to get the food

quickly to the customer, and also prepare it

in a wonderful way.

One of the things that I think is important

in the creation of this kitchen,

this is probably one of the most modern kitchens

in this type of restaurant atmosphere,

In the fast-casual setting.

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Using these monitoring devices,

no one will get lost in the restaurant.

'Cause many times, a lot of the problems,

particularly when it comes to cost,

and this where technology helps the cost factor,

is that it tracks the customer so there's less chances

of refiring dishes that have already been sent out.

What will really show the success of the restaurant

is when Lyfe can go to the heartland,

can go to where I'm from, Jasper, Florida,

and be able to feed people.

We have food desert plains in the heartland

where there's such a need for fresh, affordable food.

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