The Sustainable Dish - 16/04

Welcome to The Sustainable Dish, your biweekly update from The Sustainable Restaurant Association.?

This week brings a great opportunity for UK restaurants with a sustainability story to tell – we’re now calling for entries for the Sustainability Award at the National Restaurant Awards! Don’t miss your chance to share your smart sustainability initiatives and be in with a chance to win this prestigious award.??

What else is going on? Well, we hope to see you at The Restaurant Show where our MD Juliane Caillouette Noble is hosting a panel on 1st May with an absolutely stellar line-up of panellists. Meanwhile, our webinars to support businesses going through the Food Made Good Standard are still ongoing and provide a great opportunity to ask any questions you might have. We’re sharing the details of some sustainable supper clubs and a highly worthy campaign encouraging more plant-based options on menus – highly relevant for our mission at The SRA, especially this month as we focus on what it means to Feed People Well. (We’re including some helpful insights below on some ways your restaurant can do so.)

Finally, with Hong Kong’s Plastics Ban in effect from Monday, we’re still offering our Hong Kong Plastics Guide as a free download on our website – if you’re a hospitality business in HK, be sure to get your copy.?

Have a great week,?

– The SRA Team.?

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Entries are now open for the National Restaurant Awards Sustainability Award!?

We’re very proud to judge the Sustainability Award at the National Restaurant Awards, the prestigious annual awards that shine a spotlight on the very best establishments on the UK’s restaurant scene. We’re on the hunt for UK restaurants with a great story to tell from the last 12 months, focusing on any part of what it means to be sustainable operation. If this applies to your business, make sure you enter the Sustainability Award! The deadline for submissions is 3rd May. Register here and find more details here.?

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Hong Kong’s Single-Use Plastics Ban starts Monday?

With Hong Kong’s Single-Use Plastic Ban coming into effect next Monday 22nd, affected businesses should download our Hong Kong Plastics Guide, designed to provide practical support as they adapt to the new legislation. Our team of sustainability experts has created the Guide to facilitate a smooth transition, helping Hong Kong’s F&B sector to embrace a future without single-use plastics. This Guide is available for download, free of charge, and includes both English and Traditional Chinese translations. Download your copy here!?

Dates for the diary?

Next FMG Standard Webinar: February 19th, 3pm?

Our webinars offer additional support on your journey through the Food Made Good Standard process. With insights from the team and opportunity for questions, these free sessions are a great way to make sure you’re on the right track. Our next session is ‘FMG Standard: Checking In’ on Monday 22nd, a dynamic session to check in on your progress, answer any questions and troubleshoot any issues you may have. The session will also include more details about what to expect after you have submitted your preliminary assessment and the last steps to achieve your Final Report. Register here.?

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The Restaurant Show, May 1st, Birmingham NEC?

The Restaurant Show is the annual meeting place for anyone in the hospitality sector. Taking place in less than two weeks, from 29th April-1st May at the NEC, Birmingham, the good news is you still have to time to register for your free pass and you can’t afford to miss out! Join our Managing Director Juliane Caillouette-Noble as she moderates a panel discussion on ‘How can restaurants use their influence to effect global change through customer food choices?’ on Wednesday 1st May at 2pm on the Restaurant Stage. This is your last chance to be part of the most important event in the restaurant and hospitality calendar where you will walk away feeling inspired! Register free now?

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Stories worth sharing?

Will you go #50by25??

50by25 invites restaurants to go 50% plant-based by December 2025, for our planet. Any size restaurant, foodservice or hospitality outlet can sign up for free to receive updates, inspiration and suggestions alongside professional chef demos and interviews, all designed to help operators and their teams learn from those who have already walked the path to more sustainable menus. Three-star FMG accredited business wagamama have been 50% plant-based since 2021! Executive Head Chef Steve Mangleshot said, "We’re told by science that what we eat is one of the most impactful choices we all have to reduce our footprint on the environment. In 2021, wagamama made the commitment to having 50% of our menu plant-based, making it easier for our guests to support the planet, whilst spreading positivity, through our nourishing food. From bowl to soul.” You can sign up here or contact Emma Osborne at [email protected] for more information.??

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Sustainable supper clubs?

Rowan Halstead is a Michelin-trained chef who now runs sustainable supper clubs and pop-up events. “Working in some of the most experienced kitchens in the UK and abroad in Switzerland and the Caribbean, I witnessed first-hand the shocking amount of avoidable food waste the industry can produce due to a lack of creativity and knowledge. I knew change was needed to create a more sustainable future for food. I now put my energy into supper clubs, pop-up events, cooking demos and classes. I want to educate others about the importance of reducing food waste and utilising what we can, and its overall impact on our planet and the economy. The influence of supporting local farms, buying seasonal produce and adopting more sustainable and zero-waste cooking practices has never been more integral.” Learn more about Rowan’s sustainable food events in the UK here.?

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Insights from The SRA? ?

11 ways restaurants can make healthy, sustainable foods the easy choice?

We examine why it’s imperative that restaurants and the wider F&B industry play a key part in the shift to better food systems and share how your business can make healthy, sustainable eating an easy choice for your customers. Read more.?

What restaurant customers want now: a wholesome, whole foods approach to better health?

In this article, we look at the prevailing trends when it comes to healthy food and explore how your restaurant can craft a menu that meets the demands of your customers. Read more.?

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Sustainable Bites?

Your bite-sized round-up of hospitality, food and sustainability news?

UN agency calls for urgent action with ‘two years left’?

The UN Executive Climate Secretary has called for urgent action, saying humanity has only two years left to save the world. “We still have a chance to make greenhouse gas emissions tumble, with a new generation of national climate plans. But we need these stronger plans now,” said Simon Stiell in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London. Read more.?

German hospitals find success with serving planet-friendly meals?

A group of 12 hospitals in Germany is serving mainly plant-based meals in line with the Eat-Lancet Planetary Health Diet, which recommends meat once a week and fish twice a week, along with more fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, nuts and legumes. Reports say the hospitals found the switch easier than expected and that cutting down on meat freed up money in the budget to buy fresh, local ingredients. Read more.?

Groundbreaking study highlights potential of swapping red meat for forage fish??

A team of Japanese and Australian researchers have concluded that swapping red meat for forage fish – like sardines and anchovies – could prevent 750,000 deaths a year and help tackle the climate crisis. This follows the largest study of its kind, involving data from more than 130 countries. Read more.?