What the Michelin Green Star Means to Boulder's Bramble & Hare

"When I started cooking at 20 or 21, the Michelin Guide was the biggest thing, and even now it seems like Michelin stars are way out there in some other world that I am not going to be part of," says Eric Skokan, owner of Bramble & Hare, at 1964 13th Street in Boulder. "It's not something you dream of — or you dream of it as something being far out of reach."

But he is now a part of it. In September, his restaurant was one of 44 included in the first-ever Colorado edition of the Michelin Guide, earning recognition as a recommended eatery and nabbing one of four green stars in the state along with chef Hosea Rosenberg's Blackbelly Market in Boulder and two Id Est Hospitality concepts in Denver: Brutø and the Wolf's Tailor.

According to Michelin, the "Green Star is an annual award which highlights restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices. They hold themselves accountable for both their ethical and environmental standards, and work with sustainable producers and suppliers to avoid waste and reduce or even remove plastic and other non-recyclable materials from their supply chain. These restaurants offer dining experiences that combine culinary excellence with outstanding eco-friendly commitments and are a source of inspiration both for keen foodies and the hospitality industry as a whole."
Green stars are also even more rare than the Michelin stars most people are familiar with. There are now only 21 restaurants in the country with the distinction.

While the term "farm to table" has been buzz-worthy for decades, it wasn't until I stepped onto Skokan's Black Cat Farm in Niwot that the phrase truly had meaning. There the chef grows and raises food to supply Bramble & Hare.

Skokan says that customers would often ask him when he would get a Michelin star. "Never," would be his response, because up until June, the guide did not cover Colorado. Now Denver, Boulder, Vail, Beaver Creek Resort, Aspen and Snowmass Village all have the chance to gain recognition from the international agency, and possibly other cities, too, if they pay the fee needed in order to have the guide in the area. And of the fifty states in this country, only New York, Illinois, Washington, D.C., Florida, California and now Colorado have editions. (Atlanta will be added to the list later in the year.)

"I told myself not to get my hopes up. It's always going to be out of reach," Skokan recalls. "That's how I have thought of the Michelin Guide for thirty years. It was easy for me to discount all the stuff, and then all of a sudden, the phone explodes" with texts from friends letting him know he was awarded.

It's a well-deserved accolade.

The first time I met Skokan, there were piglets, tomatoes and my son, who had just turned one that very day and joined me on a visit to Black Cat Farm. That was nine years ago, and at the time, I didn't know that the chef was just getting started on what, how and where he would grow and raise food. Since then, I've visited the farm while lambs are being born; wandered around the upcoming farm-dinner space in the Skokan family's backyard; picked heirloom tomatoes in peak season; uprooted sunchokes; and had numerous meals at Bramble & Hare.
All of the produce, pork, lamb, fruit, herbs and other foods produced on the farm go straight to the restaurant; the excess is sold daily at a permanent farm stand located at 4975 Jay Road in Boulder, and seasonally during the Boulder County Farmers Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays and the Longmont market on Sundays.

The ever-changing selection includes numerous types of tomatoes, winter squash, eggplant, ten types of peppers, sesame seeds, sunchokes, corn, garlic, carrots and more herbs than one can remember. Skokan and his team are always discovering additional things to plant, and every year he tries his hand at something new. Soon, he says, he'll add apples and pears to the list.

Today, Black Cat Farm boasts approximately 425 acres in plots scattered around the area. Some parts of the farm are in spaces owned by Skokan and his wife, Jill, but most of the property is leased by Boulder County as part of its land renewal program. Not only is renewing the land something that Skokan is good at, but it also got the attention of the Michelin Guide inspectors.

For Skokan, the green star helped justify the nearly twenty years of work he's put into Bramble & Hare, the farm and his first restaurant, Black Cat, which merged into the next-door space housing Bramble & Hare in early 2022.
"Having the guide choose to shine the spotlight on us gives us the opportunity — and proves it's safe for other restaurants — to operate in the extreme," says Skokan. "In terms of lasting benefits for the community, we have demonstrated that our method of operating a restaurant creates good, and that any of the fifty things we do for sustainability is something others can grab onto and translate into their own restaurants."

Not that the chef was expecting the award. According to Skokan, he heard from a writer for the Michelin Guide a few months ago. That person asked him a lot of questions about sustainability and the restaurant, but he also made a point to say that they didn't know if Bramble & Hare was getting any recognition from the prestigious guide. Skokan didn't even get an invite to the September 12 ceremony at Mission Ballroom, where he and the restaurant were recognized.

Despite missing out on an in-person round of applause, he says that getting the green star feels good, and it's also  resulted in an uptick in business at the restaurant.

All of this, he adds, wouldn't have been possible without the staff, many of whom are like family, and their dedication. "Ultimately, it's these amazing and talented people we get to work with; they're making it happen," Skokan says. "They could make it happen in another restaurant and make their lives easier, but they choose to do this crazy thing with us, and I love them for it."

Because of the nature of farming, the menu at Bramble & Hare changes every day to highlight the freshest ingredients, meaning that staff are constantly learning about dishes on the fly. "We choose to make our lives more difficult knowing this is one of the costs to make the restaurant more sustainable," Skokan says. "Though that sounds noble, ultimately the level of stress and difficulty that we put all our staff through needs to be recognized. We are so appreciative to work with the people that we do."

But on a personal level, while getting the award feels great, it's the cred he now carries with his European friends that adds the extra feather to his proverbial cap. They finally accept that yes, he is a good chef, Skokan jokes. Somehow, by getting the green star, he just became a much better cook.