Thinking of starting a new venture, a business or career? Forget the how-to-books and the idiot's guides says Park Slope vegan restaurateur, Aimee Follette.
"If I'd read one of those books that say you'll work 16-20 hours every day without a day off for a year I never would have opened Sun in Bloom," she told me recently over a delicious lunch at the sun-filled Bergen Street eatery, which she opened in January of 2010. But she's glad she did even if she has worked 16-20 hours for a year without a day off.
"It was crazy and I felt overwhelmed by this project but it has pushed me in all areas of who I am and challenged me physically, mentally and emotionally."
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Sun in Bloom, Follette's labor of time—and love—is located on that groovy stretch of Bergen Street betweeen Fifth Avenue and Flatbush, that includes Babeland, Bark, Lulu Lemon and Bergen Street Comics. In the light filled space where colorful abstract paintings decorate the walls, Follette's aim is to serve "nourishing, clean and delicious food to the people of Park Slope."
The Macro Bowl with steamed collard greens, mushroom, chick peas, sauerkraut and sesame ginger sauce is a crowd pleaser as are other items like Make Your Own Miso (choice of five ingredients) and the SIB Ruben with tempeh “corned beef."
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But SIB’s Bloom Burger—a live burger with cabbage, fresh tomatoes, crunchy caramelized onions and famous live ranch dressing—is the hands-down favorite.
Follette, a longtime yoga teacher and holistic lifestyle coach, explained that the food served at Sun in Bloom is raw, living food.
“Living foods are sprouted and soaked; there’s a life force energy infused in the food. For instance, you can eat raw almonds but I prefer an almond that has been soaked. There’s a lot that happens in food, enzymatic shifts,” she told me. “If you soak beans in combu they become a digestible food product.”
Follette wants to bring freshness to the table as a way to nourish this community.
“We take out anything that is not nourishing. I am passionate about nourishment. Nourishment comes on so many levels. Emotionally, physically, through our food and how we treat each other,” she told me.
Follette’s philosophy informs the service as well. “I tell everyone who works here to create a personal connection with the customers. Getting to know each other translates into the food, how you’re going to sit with food, enjoy the food and nourish yourself."
San Francisco's Cafe Gratitude was the inspiration for Sun in Bloom. That is where Follette decided that she wanted to create a loving compassionate space that invites people to experience living food in an accessible way.
At the time she was thinking of moving to California, but Brooklyn is where Follette feels most at home. Born and raised in Rhinebeck, New York, she lived in Boulder, Colorado for ten years but always enjoyed visiting friends in Park Slope
Follette has just added brunch to Sun in Bloom's bag of tricks, too. Every weekend the chef will present an exciting array of brunch foods like apple pie pancakes, dijon, rosemary tofu scramble and a TLT with tempeh, lettuce and tomato.
"I've heard people say that there's so much love in this food," Follette told me. "And that's what makes it so rewarding."
Editor's Note: Next week, Around the Slope is moving to Mondays!
