Welcome to the fourth e-bulletin from the Sustainable Restaurant Association

Deck the halls with boughs of holly! We can't believe it's our last e-bulletin of 2009.

GETTING FESTIVE

Thanks to all you came and made merry with us at the Taste of Christmas show, 5-6 December. We loved Heston's Christmas dinner tips and enjoyed talking traditions with new SRA fans over mulled wine, namely how far our Christmas dinner has travelled before it gets to the table and the benefits of organic turkey.

Now we've had a taste of festive food, we can't wait for the real thing, although we have the SRA office party to look forward to first. And where better to celebrate then in a restaurant?

Write and let us know where you'll be eating out over the festive period. It's great to hear about our member's favourite restaurants around the UK. In return, you'll soon be able to access the SRA directory of restaurants on our new website, there'll be a forum for members to share tips with each other and we'll be flagging up establishments with exciting sustainable food or restaurant news. With 2010 just around the corner, we're looking forward to our big launch too.

RESTAURANTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Following on from the last SRA bulletin  we've been reading through some more restaurant trends for 2010 - and they signify a great start for the New Year.

The National Restaurant Association's Chef Survey: What's Hot in 2010 awards 'sustainability' top spot in the culinary themes category. 'Locally grown produce', 'locally sourced meats and fish', and 'nutritional children's dishes' also come up trumps. While 'organic coffee', 'sustainable seafood', 'superfruits', 'smaller portions', 'organic produce' and 'farm-estate branded ingredients' also feature. Great that UK and US restaurateurs are taking a like-minded approach. We'll certainly be keeping a keen eye on how sustainability is achieved in restaurants across the pond.

One US chain that's bringing its sustainable approach to UK shores soon is the Chipotle Mexican Grill  with the first branch of this burrito restaurant chain opening next year on London's Charing Cross Road. Despite having more than 900 sites in the US, Restaurant magazine cites that 'Chipotle is known for its commitment to using locally sourced ingredients, humanly raised meat and organic produce.' Could 2010 be the year of the sustainable burrito?

Blink and you might miss the UK's latest sustainable restaurant venture: Pierre Gagnaire and Mourad Mazouz's pop-up café Sketch @ The Royal Academy of Arts. A 70-cover café, launched on 3 December in conjunction with the GSK Contemporary, Earth: Art of a changing world exhibition and current climate change debate, it has an 'eco-friendly stage set interior', local ingredients and limited edition Champagne POP Earth, made by Pommery from sustainable viticulture and packaged in a 100% recyclable bottle. It's only open for two months so get there quick.

The December issue of Restaurant magazine also features Simon Rogan and his sustainable plans for L'enclume in the Lake District. Buy, beg or borrow a copy to read more about his inspiring plans for self-sufficiency including locally grown herbs, edible flowers and increased seasonality through the acquisition of nearby Howbarrow Organic Farm.

Encouraging restaurants to work more closely with suppliers and producers is something the SRA are keen to advocate. How does your restaurant fare? Drop us an email  and let us know about any supplier success stories or obstacles.

IT'S A FISHY BUSINESS

If you caught Charles Clover's The End of the Line film you'll know that sourcing sustainable fish is also hugely important for restaurants and customers. So it's great to hear about suppliers who are seeking to turn the tide on issues such as over-fishing.

Our first round of applause goes to the Fresh Olive company. According to Big Hospitality this major supplier of tuna products to the restaurant trade has now removed all species of the fish from its listings. Not a small order, for a business supplying around £250,000 of Mediterranean tuna a year.

Second up is sustainable caviar from Mottra fish farm in Latvia, where fish are 'milked' by having their bellies stroked before going back into water for 18 months before their next massage. Caviar is not to everyone's taste or approval but for restaurants that do want to keep it on the menu this seems to be the way to go.

Lastly, a 3-year, global study of salmon production systems aims to use its results to debunk food sustainability myths that surround fishing and focus on key aspects of production and distribution. The study urges people to think more about food lifecycles - the total impact of how food was produced and transported, not just produced - and to eat out more to avoid the greater environmental cost of driving to the shops or preparing meals for one at home. For their part, restaurants need to be more sustainable so eating out really is the best option.

 WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

From fish to food waste and a very cordial invite to join Thomasina Miers, SRA advisory board member and founder of informal Mexican restaurant Wahaca, at Feeding the 5,000 on Wednesday 16 December in Trafalgar Square. Thomasina will be cooking up a feast from food that would otherwise go to waste, along with other chefs and food experts - and the SRA will be there cheering them on (and enjoying a free lunch to boot!). Get there early as the event only runs from 12 noon-2pm.

We'll be talking more about food waste and other sustainable issues in our next e-bulletin in January 2010, when we will also (finally!) be inviting you to join us at the table and start receiving full member benefits. In the meantime please pass our news on to any interested parties, click on the join our mailing list icon to join the mailing list or stop by for a chat on the SRA twitter page.

Thanks for all your support in 2009 and we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy - and fabulously sustainable - New Year!

 

 

 

Simon Heppner