It’s All About Food

Part I. The Healthy Candles, with Bart Potenza and Joy Pierson. Since 1988, Bart Potenza and his partner Joy Pierson have created three successful vegetarian dining establishments. Candle Cafe was the first restaurant to be certified by the Green Restaurant Association and both restaurants are at the forefront of campaigns to green the restaurant industry. The most recent is Candle 79, one of the first upscale organic vegan restaurants in the country. At the vanguard of health food marketing and vegetarianism, Bart Potenza has written and lectured on the virtues of healthy eating for everyone. After studying at the City College of New York Business School, Bart was a successful art dealer for 16 years before making a change-of-career to the health food industry. His new lifestyle impressed him profoundly with his renewed vitality and sense of well being, and he wanted to share that with the public. In recent years, Bart and Joy have passionately supported the efforts of the environmental and animal rights communities, through their work in the Candle restaurants and beyond. Bart is a proud member of Co-op America, Social Ventures Network, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, The Presidents Club at F.A.R.M., P.E.T.A. and Farm Sanctuary. He provides a wealth of inspiration and information through his daily aphorisms, which he posts on a chalkboard in both restaurants. A compilation of his works, “Look Two Ways on a One Way Street” is published by Lantern Books. The success of Candle Cafe and Candle 79 proves Bart’s original assertion that eating super healthy vegetarian food is a choice that impacts not only individual health, but also the health of the planet. Bart’s “daily bread” is his quest to make our world better for all humanity. He continues to be inspired by the growth and significance of the green movement. Joy, a nutritional counselor since 1985, graduated from Tufts University Magna Cum Laude, and is certified by the Pritikin Longevity Center and Hippocrates Health Institute. Her passion for counseling and healing through great food lead her to join Bart Potenza at The Healthy Candle in 1988 where they began creating foods and menus tailored to the nutritional needs of clients from Joy’s private practice, and the Healthy Candle’s ever-growing customer base. Their partnership has flourished, and Joy and Bart have joined to create Candle Cafe, Candle 79, a growing catering and wholesale business, and the internationally best selling Candle Cafe Cookbook. In addition to time spent at the restaurants, Joy avidly promotes their mission beyond the restaurants’ walls. She has written and lectured extensively about food and nutrition, sharing her expertise with an ever widening audience as more and more people become mindful of the positive effects of healthful eating. She regularly leads workshops and teaches courses on diet and nutrition. Joy has appeared on The Today Show, Good Day New York, CBS News This Morning, The Food Network’s TV Food Diners, and has been a radio guest on Joan Hamburg, The Howard Stern Show, and Walden’s Pond with Sheldon Walden on NPR. Joy serves as a board member of the New York Coalition for Healthy School Lunches and Wellness in the Schools. She is also an active SVN member. Her quest is to continue changing people’s awareness of health and well being and its effect on the planet and future generations by bringing farm fresh vegan food to as many people and as many tables as possible! Part II. Interview with Jesse Boss. Jesse Boss is a fifteen-year-old, home schooled student living in San Francisco. She's been vegan for over a year and shares her experiences in this interview.