The concept of sustainability is gaining momentum in all walks of life, from fashion to food. In the food industry, sustainability is not just about minimizing waste and plastic packaging. It extends much beyond to include how ingredients are sourced, how far the ingredients have to travel, seasonality, and selecting responsible suppliers.
Considering these aspects, here’s a list of some high-end restaurants around the world that merge their delectable culinary crafts with sustainability, while maintaining impeccable quality.
Considering these aspects, here’s a list of some high-end restaurants around the world that merge their delectable culinary crafts with sustainability, while maintaining impeccable quality.
L’Arpège, France
Alain Passard, a world-class chef who is known for his passion for slow-cooking meat, started L’Arpège in 1986. Considered a pioneer of plant-based cooking and sustainability, Passard started the fine dining restaurant with the aim of offering cuisine that hadn’t yet been explored to its full potential.
Three biodynamic gardens supply fresh vegetables, spices, fruits, and herbs to this restaurant with the hand-harvested produce amounting to nearly fifty tons every year. While a few dishes on the menu feature meat, the chef prefers plant-based dishes. Vegetables are roasted and grilled over flames, to perfect their colors, aromas, and rich flavors.
Geranium, Copenhagen
This award-winning eatery that was ranked the 5th best restaurant in the world in 2019, celebrates the finest seasonal ingredients in Scandinavia, with a gorgeous presentation. Its location in the Østerbro district highlights its vision of gastronomic clarity and diversity.
With seventeen tasting courses starring seafood and vegetables that are accompanied by carefully-picked wine pairings, the culinary journey here lasts nearly two hours! The head chef, Rasmus Kofoed, embraces his biodynamic philosophy, by working closely with a local farm and incorporating umami flavors through reduced vegetable broths.
Schloss Schauenstein, Switzerland
Nestled in the sprawling grounds of a castle in the remote Swiss countryside of Fürstenau, this picturesque restaurant is commandeered by Ched Andreas Caminada. Ingredients for the lavish, delicious dishes are freshly sourced from the verdant gardens of the castle.
The menu here is crafted around seasonality and highlights the Domleschg Valley’s culinary identity with its rich flavors. To add a cherry on top, this restaurant uses renewable energy and all its produce is delivered in sustainable packaging like baskets and glass. A quaint coffee roastery and a wood-fired bakery are some later additions to this progressive restaurant.
Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
Located between an industrial area and a flyover’s shadow, this fine dining restaurant is a welcoming oasis, complete with an urban garden and greenhouse. The lush green garden is packed to the brim with teardrop peas, wild garlic, orange thyme, and many more plant.
Named after its chef and owner, Sat Bains, the restaurant is committed to sustainability. In addition to growing their own greens and using deer hide tablecloths, an on-site composter is used to transform the food waste into natural fertilizers for the garden. The restaurant also advocates social responsibility by hosting an annual competition to support local chefs.
Mirazur, France
Sustainability is a key aspect of this Menton-based restaurant, that’s helmed by Mauro Colagreco, one of the biggest names in gastronomy. Its menu has been devised with ingredients sourced from the restaurant’s gardens, local farmers, and fishermen.
Mirazur’s culinary journey and flavors draw inspiration from the surrounding lands, the mountains in the background, and the calm sea it overlooks. Every dish tells the story of the ingredients in it and the local producers who source them, making it a melange of culture and cuisine.
To conclude, chefs are focusing more than ever on sourcing local ingredients and using them to create seasonal menus. In the endeavor for sustainability, fine dining restaurants are working with local farmers to reduce food miles, improve waste management, and reduce their carbon footprint.
To conclude, chefs are focusing more than ever on sourcing local ingredients and using them to create seasonal menus. In the endeavor for sustainability, fine dining restaurants are working with local farmers to reduce food miles, improve waste management, and reduce their carbon footprint.