The restaurant in the forest-- the raw materials of the whole island really come from nature.

Many restaurants advertise the concept of "origin","sustainability" and "green", but the real 100% implementation is this Hartwood restaurant.

This restaurant is located in a small seaside village in Tulum, Mexico.

Located 90 minutes south of Cancun in the Yucatan Peninsula, Tulum is a small village on the edge of not much development jungle. Because of its beautiful natural environment, blue sea, white sand beach and wild taste of jungle, many city residents come here for vacation and enjoy the charm of being away from the hustle and bustle.

Eric Werner and his wife, Mya Henry, also vacationed in the virgin territory in 2009, working as a chef in New York. After a wonderful week, the two returned to their daily lives in New York.

They asked themselves a big question: What if we stayed in this beautiful village?

Unlike other people's New Year's resolutions such as losing weight, earning money and getting fit, the young couple's New Year's resolution for 2010 is to open a restaurant in the jungle of Tulum.

"I've always wanted to open a restaurant that really goes from sea to farm to table. Eric the cook said.

"With its rich fisheries, beautiful Mayan culture and traditional farming practices, Toulon is a great place to put our ideas into practice, and the restaurants we want to open must be 100% sustainable." Wife Mia said.

And they did, quitting their jobs in 2010 and putting all their savings into this land on the edge of the Mexican jungle, spending seven months visiting local farmers and fishermen, learning about ingredients, and designing and building their ideal restaurant.

In order to practice 100% sustainability, Eric and Maya travel around to find old things, furniture, kitchen utensils, etc. that have been discarded in recycling yards. These items are repaired and used very well.

Eric and Maya thought that there was no need for fashionable architectural design in this jungle with plenty of sunshine, natural cool breeze, green shade and comfortable climate. Sitting outdoors was the most comfortable place to eat. At night, they could even enjoy the stars.

They built natural wood stoves and cooked with the abundant firewood in nature.

"The 2000-year-old oven can cook all kinds of delicious dishes, which are not inferior to modern technology oven design, or even better. Eric said.

Opening a restaurant in a jungle lacking electricity, Eric uses solar panels to get all the energy. Water and electricity are self-sufficient as far as possible, except for ice and clean water that need to be transported in from outside.

"We designed a composting system where all kitchen waste is recycled into fertilizer that nourishes the land. Eric said.

There are rich fishing grounds and rich farms nearby, which can provide rich ingredients every day. There are always fresh and different ingredients for Eric to play all year round.

Every morning, Eric, who owns three boats, employs eight local fishermen, who hunt in environmentally friendly ways. Eric, who loves outdoor sports, sometimes goes out with them and paddles his boat to the Caribbean Sea and the lagoon of Boca Paila, catching the fish needed for the restaurant that day, as has been the tradition for centuries.

Never catch too many fish. Fishermen still catch fish in the traditional Mayan culture, using spearhead and line fishing. Eric said.

Maya was in charge of the bar attached to the restaurant, which was made from locally produced fruits and vegetables.

"Nothing is poured out of a box or bought from a juice pail, we make all our drinks from freshly squeezed vegetables." Maya said.

Cooking in a wood-fired kiln adds a lot of flavor to the dish that the electric oven doesn't have, such as a customer favorite dish: pork ribs with honey and pineapple, which is slowly baked in the residual heat of the kiln at night.

Eric and his wife's life is no longer like life in New York, can only find a balance between busy work every day. Now they have a baby, every day from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., whether it is foraging with villagers, fishing, or researching ingredients, planning and cooking by themselves, it is a happy life, which cannot be called work or leisure.

"Slow life makes dishes that taste different. Eric said.

"I am in a state of excitement every day, there are no boring moments, because the villagers always bring me new ingredients, these ingredients mean new challenges to the taste buds, I always have a lot of ideas, this is the most satisfying treasure for chefs."〞

Six years later, Hartwood has almost lived up to Eric and Maya's promise of sustainable operations, operating without any environmental burdens, hunting in a way that respects natural reproduction, buying products and meat directly from farmers and producers, using pollution-free solar energy and building lasting relationships with community workers.

The husband-and-wife team created this restaurant, which is booked daily and has become one of the most inspiring restaurants in the world.

Now famous, they were not eager to expand their business. Instead, they spent time writing a book. Turn their ideas into words and pictures that can influence more people.

In this modern society, which is constantly pursuing growth, human beings pollute the environment, exploit farmers 'labor, exterminate species, and even produce food by genetically modified methods for money and wealth. The nutrition imbalance of human beings, the relationship between human beings and nature, human beings and land, human beings and goods, and even human beings have reached the most tense moment.

Eric and Mia's restaurant not only provides us with a place to taste delicious food, but also provides us with a way of living and values in harmony with nature.

Like Alan? As Alain de Botton wrote in The Art of Travel: "If a man's whole life were spent in nature, his character would be changed a great deal, and he would no longer be competitive, envious, or anxious." If you interact with people too much, you have to see more scenery to purify your complicated and sensitive feelings."

The couple, living in seclusion in the jungle, made a life-changing decision to leave the big city and return to nature. They bid farewell to a sustainable way of life, and nature rewarded them with plenty of spiritual food, no longer living in camps, no longer sinking into human relationships like meat grinder.