Stimson-Green Mansion

Social Events Holidays Weddings Summer Fun Events Corporate Events Wine Dinners Murder Mystery Dinners

Green Tags

Caught green handed!

These days, it would appear that being environmentally friendly / green / sustainable, is not just something business owners should be striving toward, but rather it is something they should be.

The House Itself ~

Terms such as ‘carbon footprint’ and ‘the transesterification of oil in biodiesel production’ were not in our vocabulary 5 or 10 years ago. This does not mean that being green is a recent phenomenon. Back in 1899 when the Mansion was being built, Kirkland Cutter, the Mansion’s architect installed certain eco friendly features in the house, such as low wattage wall sconces and light fixtures. The most interesting feature though, is the clothes dryer in the laundry room. As the hot water leaves the water heater in the basement to make its way upstairs to the kitchen and bathrooms, it first embarks on a journey through a labyrinth of water pipes in a large pull out clothes rack. The heat coming from the hot water pipes dries the clothes on the racks. These laundry racks are still in use today, we dry our more delicate linens on them!

The Stimson – Green Mansion in and of itself is a testimony to sustainability. The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation is the proud owner and steward of this significant landmark in Seattle. The Trust continues to use a portion of catering company revenue to maintain our landmark home and to fund historic preservation throughout the state.

The Food We Serve ~

The Stimson-Green Mansion Catering Company over the past 7 years has been striving toward sustainable food practices. As members of Chefs Collaborative, we attempt to reflect their philosophy of ‘sharing a common concern about the sources of the food we eat. We (the Chef’s Collaborative) work collectively to promote the highest-quality, best-tasting local ingredients; products we know are better for the environment, our communities, and the nation’s tables’.

Stimson-Green Mansion serves wild caught fish; fish that is from an abundant source or from a well managed fishery. Both our salmon and halibut are Alaskan, and yellowfin and albacore are Pacific. Our seafood purveyor guarantees that the tuna we purchase is caught by methods that do not harm dolphins and sea turtles.

Beef is also a NW sourced food item at the Mansion. Our menu features natural beef. This means the cattle are fed a 100% vegetarian diet and plenty of clean water from birth and they are never given any animal by-products. They are also never given growth hormones or antibiotics. For a large part of the animals’ lives, they roam freely in the rolling grass hills of their family farms here in the Pacific Northwest, where they have been born and raised.

We offer only all natural Washington chicken. Similarly to beef, this means the poultry have never been given hormones or steroids, artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring, chemical preservatives or any other synthetic ingredient. The poultry feed does not contain any wheat gluten, corn gluten, or concentrated rice, but rather protein ingredients sourced from U.S. suppliers.. It's always handled without any fundamental alterations, meaning it is handled only as is necessary to clean it and make it ready to cook and it has not been exposed to radiation.

Rice and rice blends, exotic grains, and legumes make up a lot of our side dishes on our menus. We strive to use whole or minimally processed grains. Our Quinoa salad is a perfect example of this, using red quinoa, along with fresh herbs grown in our herb garden when available! Click here for the recipe!

What is ‘locally grown’ produce? One definition is ‘produce that has traveled less than a day (7 or fewer hours by car or truck) from the farm to the grocery store or farmer’s market. During the summer months, here in Washington, there is an abundant supply of produce harvested at it’s peak of freshness and flavor. It is an easy task for us to serve local produce. During the winter months however, we face the challenge of having limited fruits on offer. Our Fall / Winter menus will oftentimes offer dried fruits and smoked nuts in place of fresh fruits on our cheese presentations. At times our produce is organic, meaning it has been grown without the use of persistent and toxic chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

Around the Mansion ~

Did you know that there can be 40 – 50 ways to improve things in the office and general workplace? We decided to take a good look around the Mansion to research other ways.

So, we found a variety of ways for us to be better stewards of the earth. We believe that small steps often precede the bigger ones. Here are some of the changes we have made:

ü donate our used cooking oil to a local company who makes biodiesel from it. Biodiesel is biodegradable and non-toxic and is used in unmodified diesel-engine vehicles. It typically produces about 60% less net-lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions than petroleum diesel.

ü return packing materials for reuse

ü sort and recycle glass, plastic and cardboard through Seattle Public Utilities

ü compost through our local waste management company

ü conserve resources by turning lights and electrical equipment off when not needed.

ü recycle used batteries (thanks Paula!)

ü use Domtar EarthChoice® office paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and endorsed by the Rainforest Alliance

ü provide a nonwoven reusable and recycled polypropylene tote bag for our clients to take their leftover food (when applicable) home in. (coming soon)

ü use custom made rain barrels positioned on the NW and SW sides of the Mansion, that collect the roof’s storm water, which is then recycled and used to supplement our irrigation system.

ü suggest using ‘Green Tags’ as party favors. Green Tags also called renewable energy certificates, support the production of renewable energy in the United States. Some guests of the Mansion, may wish to calculate their carbon footprint and then purchase Green Tags as a way to offset their carbon footprint.

ü cut the plastic rings used to package 6 cans of soda pop, as young seals and sea gulls sometimes strangle on these plastic rings as the animal grows.

ü Use ‘Simple Green®' all purpose cleaner which is an environmentally friendly cleaning products that is non-toxic and biodegradable

ü Purchase and use kitchen towels that are 100% recycled and bleached free of chlorine and other harmful chemicals.

Home • About the Mansion • About Us • Being Green • Commitment Ceremonies • Contact Us • Corporate Events Holidays • Directions • Event Planning • Got Questions • Memorials • Menus • Murder Mystery Dinner Theater • Photo Credit • Photo Tour • Rates • Raves • Social Events • Special Promotions Summer Fun Events • Weddings • Wine Dinners