Top 6: Where To Eat on Stop Food Waste Day 2019By amelia richards
The 24th of April is National Stop Food Waste Day in the UK. Food waste is one of the most pressing urgent issues of our times. Did you know that over a third of all food produced globally each year is wasted? And that 50% of all fruit and veg that’s harvested is thrown away?
The social, economic and environmental impact of food waste is no joke – if the amount of food wasted were reduced by even a quarter, it would mean that an extra 870 million hungry people could be fed each year. Furthermore, according to the official Stop Food Waste website, if ‘Food Waste’ were a country, it would be the third largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions after China and the USA.
In order to celebrate Stop Food Waste Day 2019, we’ve put together a list of our favourite sustainable places to eat and drink in London:
1. For Michelin Starred Sustainability: Pied à Terre
Aside from offering exceptional gourmet food, the restaurant also prides itself on maintaining a zero-waste policy, working with the unique food waste farming organisation, Indie Ecology. Together they’re able to ensure all food scraps are recycled and used to grow vegetables which are, in turn, used at the restaurant itself. One of the best sustainable restaurants London; choose from the restaurant’s a la carte or, for a very special occasion, tasting menu and prepare to be dazzled. Pied à Terre also offer vegetarian and vegan menus, taking their sustainability factor to to the next level.
Where: 34 Charlotte St, Fitzrovia, London W1T 2NH
2. For Cali-Inspired Vegan Vibes: Kalifornia Kitchen
The team behind health-hub du jour Kalifornia Kitchen have joined forces with vegan influencer Loui Blake to create a new dish with reducing food waste very much in mind. Their Banana Peel Tacos, where the ‘meat’ is made from BBQ pulled banana peel, are innovative and Instagrammable in equal measure! Their signature kale chips are also a great option for those looking to reduce their carbon footprint when eating out – they are made using dehydrated leftover kale from the making of their popular kale salad.
Kale chips are available now from their Percy Street branch, and their Banana Peel Tacos will be available from the 1st of May at their newest outpost in Market Hall Fulham.
Where: 19 Percy St, Bloomsbury, London W1T 1DY
3. For A Drinks-Led Adventure Into Seasonal Produce: CUB
Cub offers an original and unique luxury drinks-led dining experience for guests. Opened in September 2017, it was born of a collaboration between Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan) and Doug McMaster of Brighton’s pioneering zero-waste restaurant Silo.
A truly collaborative project, the founders have worked tirelessly with MIT’s Dr Arielle Johnson to look into how food systems, farming practices and food and drink experiences can be explored in a way that doesn’t destroy the planet. One of the best sustainable restaurants London, the menu at Cub is ingredient led and informed by sustainable supply and waste reduction, meaning that the menu is packed full of seasonal ingredients which are locally abundant and most readily available.
Due to the nature of the beast, the menu is constantly evolving and heavily plant-based, although not exclusively vegetarian or vegan.
Where: 153 Hoxton St, Hoxton, London N1 6PJ
4. For Zero-Waste Plant-Based Nosh: Plant Hub
The Plant Hub is all about creating a zero waste and working towards a sustainable environment. For example, they hand-make the amazing gluten-free bread in their cafe and then use up leftovers, crusts and crumbs to knock up a delicious savoury granola that is served on their breakfast menu.
They only use local organic suppliers and work closely with producers to procure wonky and surplus fruits and vegetables so that they don’t go to waste.
Through the ‘Plant Academy’, their on-site cookery school, they educate the next generation of sustainable plant-based chefs in how to cook from root to shoot.
Where: 217 Mare St, London E8 3QE
5. For Carbon-Neutral Italian Fare: Turnips at Vinegar Yard
Specialist food & veg retailer in Borough Market, Turnips, have already managed to reduce waste fruit and veg from their stall from a whopping 22% to 6%, and their aim is bring it to close to zero.
The Foster family, purveyors of Turnips, have been taking steps to reduce food waste from their retail and wholesale business for years. 15 years ago they started making juice made from fruit that would have been wasted because it didn’t ‘look the part’ for retail. More recently they have launched a street food business, Turnips Kitchen.
Turnips’ head chef, Leon, takes unsold fruit and veg from the family’s Borough Market stall and turns it into delicious Italian dishes that are ripe for the eating! Leftover tomatoes are used to make the sauce for pizzas, and leftover vegetables go into creating yummy toppings. Their best-selling dish is an unctuous risotto which gets its flavour from a rich stock made from surplus mushrooms. With the development of these two dishes alone, the Foster Family have been able to achieve zero percent waste when it comes to tomatoes and mushrooms – their two biggest volume products.
Where: Vinegar Yard, 80-82 St Thomas Street, SE1 3QU
6. For An Expert’s Pick: Nat•ive
Friend of About Time and food waste warrior, Melissa Hemsley, alerted us to the wonderful work of chefs at Native when it comes to beating food waste. Head chef Ivan trained under Dan Barber (of WasteED fame) at his Michelin Starred Blue Hill Farm at Stone Barns in New York, fine tuning his skills and further developing his passion for natural, foraged and seasonal produce.
The highlight of their sustainable menu comes in the form of their ‘Chef’s Wasting Menu Snacks’ which are offered to all customers opting for the tasting menu. The snacks are a selection of zero waste nibbles made from the previous day’s leftovers – most restaurants would throw the produce away, but here they are treated as ingredients in their own right.
Where: 32 Southwark St, London SE1 1TU
