54 | Behind the scenes of farm to table restaurants with Chef Nate of Modern Market

Time to change up our episodes this week from talking about nutrition, body image and holiday eating – this week we’re doing a fun episode where I’m interviewing Chef Nate Weir, the Director of Culinary Operations at Modern Market!

In this week’s episode we’re learning about Chef Nate’s journey from growing up in Haiti to moving to the US, becoming a Chef and the Director of Culinary operations at Modern Market, which is one of the pioneering (actually) healthy fast casual restaurants in the US. I first heard of (and learned to love) Modern Market in 2010 when I was visiting one of my best friends in Boulder, Colorado – and was immediately thrilled and sad all at once because we didn’t have anything remotely close to this quality of food back home in DC.

We learn about what spiked his passion for cooking healthy food, what it’s like to go to a Farm to Table program Culinary School of the Rockies in Boulder, Colorado, and the story of how he came to work at Modern Market – which is still one of my favorite restaurants, my #1 fast casual recommendation, and a great place to go to meet any dietary needs with high quality ingredients and lots of flavor. We’re also talking about the evolution of how Modern Market came to be, and it’s really fun to see behind the scenes of an again, actually healthy, restaurant chain that has grown to be nationwide and so successful while maintaining its values and integrity, its focus on sustainable sourcing, seasonal menu items, and local items where possible.

We also talk about Chef Nate’s favorite menu items at Modern Market, what it looks like at home when he cooks for his family, and finally, his advice for taking the guilt out of holiday food choices.