An Interview with Zak Dolezal, Head Chef & General Manager at Duke's Alehouse & Kitchen

By Jen Ludwigsen

Zak Dolezal is Head Chef and General Manager at Duke's Alehouse and Kitchen, a downtown Crystal Lake gastropub offering delicious, locally-sourced, artisanal comfort foods and craft beers. Duke's recently received their third star from the Green Restaurant Association, a certification indicative of their steadfast dedication to protecting our community and environment through green, eco-positive business practices and sustainable food. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Zak to hear his thoughts about the Food Shed. Enjoy :)

Who Is Howard Lyman? Cattle Rancher Gone Plant-based

By Don's Early Light, Donald J. Brix, Ph.D. 

In case you don’t know, I won’t keep you in suspense a moment longer. Howard Lyman is a former Montana cattle rancher, now approaching elderliness. He grew up on his family’s ranch, a sizable operation which he eventually took over and made larger. A spinal tumor that came close to paralyzing him resulted in his beginning to question his way of eating, a super-sized version of the high-fat Standard American Diet.

Your biggest contribution to sustaining the environment: your plant-based diet

By Don's Early Light, Donald J. Brix, Ph.D.

Our Brain: All It's Cracked Up to Be?

By Leslie A. Cook, vegetatingwithleslie.org

A brain is an interesting thing. I was just thinking about brains the other day. My thought process began this way:

I took a walk with my husband. Along the way, we saw a dead rabbit in an area where we had seen a feral cat the evening before. His reaction reminded me of times we had watched nature movies together. If one animal hunted another to kill it, he turned off the TV. Of course, I don’t like to see animals killed or hurt, but I wondered about his reaction. I said, “It’s natural. It’s just the way life works. It’s designed that way.” He said, “It’s a stupid design.”

That generated something of a paradigm shift for me. It’s the way nature works: it’s always been that way. I never questioned it. Whether or not there is divine intention behind it, sustaining life requires taking life, at least in this universe, even if it’s “just a plant.”