Under the leadership of Executive Chef Peter Davis, the culinary team of The Charles Hotel is completely dedicated to earth-friendly practices.  As a member of Chefs Collaborative, a non profit organization interested in the “interconnectedness of the environment and food choices,” Chef Davis seeks to encourage sustainable environmental practices and improve the quality and taste of the food that New Englanders eat. 

Chef Davis enthusiastically supports local farmers and local fishermen, buying only products that he hand-chooses with the assistance of local purveyors and refusing to use genetically-engineered food.  He purchases food from artisanal producers who he believes are preserving valuable traditions, sustainable agriculture and aquaculture, humane animal husbandry and well-managed fisheries.  Henrietta’s Table, The Charles Hotel’s casual three-meal restaurant which Davis oversees, provides guests with “Know Your Farmers” baseball-type cards.  These unique cards inform guests what farm their food comes from, provide stats and photos from New England’s best producers and promote the best practice of buying local products.  The cards are distributed with check-stuffers in the restaurant, and complete sets are sold in the market at Henrietta’s Table.  Proceeds from the “Know Your Farmers” cards benefit The Farm School in Athol, Massachusetts, a family run farm that Peter Davis is personally involved in.  The cards are so unique that they have even been profiled in USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and Food Arts.

The Charles Hotel is indeed proud to be affiliated with The Farm School, which teaches sustainable agricultural techniques to children and adults.  To show support for this program, The Charles Hotel purchases Farm School products and holds an annual fundraiser, called the “Big Pig Gig,” to benefit the school’s programs.  In 2006, this fun event, which provides scholarships to youngsters who want to learn to be farmers, raised over $140,000.    Ben Holmes, the executive director of the Farm School, calls Peter Davis and his commitment to organically grown products a “gift from above. There is no other chef or organization in this city who takes to heart what helping the environment means.  He is one of our favorite stewards of the earth.”

Even behind the scenes at Henrietta’s Table and in the banquet kitchens of The Charles, there are environmentally friendly practices in place.  Here, all trash is sorted for biodegradable and compostable waste and is given to Herb’s Disposal, a local compost service.  This compost is picked up three to seven times per week, depending on production, and enables the hotel to limit the amount of garbage that it produces.  The Charles Hotel is the only lodging facility in the greater Boston area to implement such an important practice for the environment, and the hotel was recently profiled by NECN (New England Cable News) for putting this program into effect. 

By implementing several important policies and procedures in the engineering, housekeeping, and food and beverage areas of the hotel, The Charles Hotel is greater Boston’s most environmentally-friendly hotel… for both visitors and employees.  Clearly its practices and programs are role model examples for other hotels in the country.