CELEBRATE LOCAL & SEASONAL

foodspace

across Ireland

We scoured the country to find the best producers within a 50-mile radius of all 12 sites, allowing us to build a local larder and champion local producers. Now we have a ‘50-mile dish’ on the menu every day, and the customers who choose it receive loyalty points. 

We understand the power of being part of the local community by supporting the local economy, families and jobs, and strive to help others do so too. For example, we have mobilised the catering contract at Abbot Pharmaceuticals in Clonmel to serve breakfast sausages from local supplier Una Dwyer, known as the Butchers Daughter.

FINALISTS: Kai, Galway & Loam, Galway

MORE VEG & BETTER MEAT

woods hill table

Massachusetts, USA

We looked at the overwhelming impact of meat production in the US and decided to integrate our supply chain. We run our own 360 acre organic, 100% pasture-raised, pesticides-free livestock farm, and we use all parts of our animals, working every cut into our dishes, creating blankets from hides and lighting our tables by our own tallow candles. Now we serve the highest quality meat at affordable prices. 

With the help of the SRA we are better communicating these processes on our websites. That way we can show why we do what we do and the positive impact it is having on the environment and local community.

FINALISTS: The Good Egg, London & Poco Tapas Bar, Bristol

SOURCE FISH RESPONSIBLY

lussmanns suStainable fish and grill

Hertfordshire 

We have spent the past 5 years building an in-depth strategy to ensure that we are serving customers a growing variety of MSC certified dishes. We have shown that diners can fall in love with different species and that it is possible to promote the importance of MSC certification to a high street audience. 

Our long term goal is to sustain our 90%-MSC certified fish list whilst continuing to grow our brand.

FINALISTS: Angel Hill Food Company, UK-wide & University of Plymouth

SUPPORT GLOBAL FARMERS

Bartlett mitchell

London 

We brought our supply chain in house by launching our own premium Fairtrade coffee brand, ‘Perkee’. Working with the Soppexcca Coffee Co-operative, this satisfied customer’s demand whilst ensuring a fair deal for the farmers growing it. The project provides our customers a better coffee experience than the high street but also allows us to have real impact on the lives of over 600 farmers. 

The Soppexcca co-­operative have now invested the Fairtrade Premium in an education fund and an empowerment programme focusing on women’s health, social enterprise businesses for  the next generation, as well as a chocolateria! 

FINALIST: The Gallivant, East Sussex

TREAT STAFF FAIRLY

CAFE ST HONORÉ

Edinburgh

We set out not to be a good employer, but the best. We pay livable wages, introduced mentoring and at least one daily shared meal for all staff, while cutting down to a four-day, 45 hour work week.  

It kicks off first thing in the morning with a simple hey, morning, how are you, sleep well? Fancy a coffee? A huddle around the coffee machine before starting work and asking about family, troubles and problems is crucial. We do these things to combat the abuse, bullying and substance abuse that is sadly commonplace in our industry. It’s crucial to say ‘I trust you to do this’.

FINALISTS: The Breakfast Club, London and South East & LP Food at Work

SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY

the breakfast club

London and South East

We were no longer content with an internal volunteering programme, instead we set out to spread the word in the industry. We have created an online platform and a series of events to encourage other restaurants to learn from our experiences and create ‘good days’ for local charities, their employees and their customers. 

Charities are given a platform to share their expertise, businesses in hospitality are given the tools and knowledge to network with like-minded individuals, and local communities can benefit from the businesses’ pledge to act upon what they’ve learnt.

FINALISTS: Harissa Kitchen, Newcastle-upon-Tyne & Nando’s, UK-wide

FEED PEOPLE WELL

Farmacy kitchen

London 

Our mission at Farmacy is to help raise consciousness around food and promote a healthy lifestyle. This is a movement that advocates plant-based, organic eating and a chemical-free approach to increase health and wellness for both us and the planet.  

We are supporters of using education and information to create conversations on wellness, conscious eating, responsible food growing practice and sustainability. We work hard to evolve and innovate constantly and keep moving to be better at what we do best; the Farmacy Kitchen Cookbook embodies this ethos!

FINALISTS: Cardiff Metropolitan University & Gather and Gather, BristoL

VALUE NATURAL RESOURCES

nando’s

UK and Ireland

We have partnered with Hillcross Furniture and The Employability trust to refurbish old outdoor furniture and send it back into our restaurants as good as new.  

The initiative has not only prevented waste and additional purchasing on our side, but also benefited Hillcross, as it enables them to focus on skilled upholstery. It has also proven the efficacy of the Employability Trust’s concept. Through our work they are talking to the CEO of Barclays, the Chairman of the Big Issue and many others to replicate the model elsewhere.

FINALISTS: Eden Caterers, London & Sticklebarn at Langdales, Cumbria

REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE

ODE-TRUEfood

Devon 

We got drastic on plastic, setting up a purchasing coop to secure alternative plant-based products at a competitive price. We connected with a local primary school to do a beach clean; the children made a sculpture with the plastic collected, which we now use to educate the public around plastic pollution.  

Almost 100% of businesses in our village are now aware of the issue and the initiative. 70% are engaging at some level, with many removing plastic straws, bags and polystyrene, and purchasing compostable packaging.

FINALISTS Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxfordshire & University of Winchester

WASTE NO FOOD

jd wetherspoon

UK-wide

We stood on the pass and in the kitchen to understand exactly where and how food was being wasted. Knowing there was no silver bullet, we launched a multi-pronged approach, reducing and separating prep waste, tackling plate waste with smaller portions, and donating unavoidable waste to charities across the country. 

All 900+ pubs in the estate now segregate food waste which is collected and sent for anaerobic digestion. We currently send zero waste to landfill and will continue to work towards the target to recycle 95% of recyclable waste. Being part of the SRA has raised our awareness to so many more areas where food is or has the potential to be wasted. We will continue to make small changes and amplify them throughout our estate with their support.

FINALISTS: Petersham Nurseries, London & Vacherin, London

OPEN RIGHT AWARD

fhior

Edinburgh 

We wanted to create a set of menus that maximised the quantity of local ingredients and minimised the amount it wasted. It begins with local, sustainable and ethical sourcing, choosing less-used cuts or animals, and ends with the repurposing the trimmings and offcuts. To date we have used less than a domestic bin’s worth of food waste a week. 

Fhior has been open for three months, and the feedback has already been incredible; so much so that Michelin caught wind and visited on our 16th service. This all shows that taking great care in selecting produce and treating it with respect from start to finish has a wonderful and enhancing purpose. 

FINALISTS: Claw, London & Hawksmoor, Edinburgh

GOOD TO GO AWARD

brunch

Merseyside 

We set out to prove that takeaway isn’t synonymous with throwaway. We source ethical and sustainable produce and provide packaging that’s kinder to the planet.  

We pride ourselves on our no waste policy, ensure all our suppliers are appropriately accredited and engage the whole team in our philosophy of taking no shortcuts to save pennies.  

FINALISTS:
Joe & ‘Za, London & Kingfisher Fish and Chips, Plymouth

FOOD MADE GOOD SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR

belu

We support restaurants and catering outlets to make informed decisions in the move towards a more sustainable water service. The project has embraced removing or reducing single-use where possible, using ‘better’ bottles where not, and is enabled by a business model that offers outlets filtration systems without charge.  

Belu gives 100% of our net profits to our charity partner WaterAid to reach people with clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. Over 884 million people worldwide don’t have clean water to drink, and 1 in 3 people don’t have a toilet. To date we’ve given over £3 million, and we are working towards achieving £1 million net profit in 2018 alone, in turn transforming over 200,000 lives worldwide

FINALISTS: Belazu Ingredient Company & Squeaky Energy

PEOPLE'S FAVOURITE RESTAURANT

dusty knuckle pizza

Cardiff 

We are avid ambassadors of the Slow Food movement; from pop-up to permanent parlour. Artisan producers provide the innovative toppings scattered liberally on our pizzas, which are delivered in reusable aluminium boxes 

FINALISTS: 
The Black Swan, Oldstead, Yorkshire & The Breakfast Club, Soho

FOOD MADE GOOD CHAMPION

James Crouch

University of Plymouth

Generating the community’s most popular and dynamic discussions to date; Jim has engaged the largest variety of members in finding first-hand industry solutions from which we can all continue to learn

Finalists:
Henry Burgess of Henry’s Burgers, Essex & Lauren Haffenden of Lakeside at University of Surrey

FOOD MADE GOOD BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

POCO

We’ve been striving to make the connection between farm and fork ever closer, devising ever tastier and more inventive ways of keeping food on the plate and out of the bin, and continuing to up the quantity, quality and variety of amazing veg on our menu, alongside the finest, least intensive cuts of meat.

See the Top 20 here.

RAYMOND BLANC SUSTAINABILITY HERO

pROFESSOR TIM LANG

An individual doing the most to create positive change across the sector.

Professor Tim Lang, the man without whom there would be no Food Standards Agency nor Sustain, no concept of food miles, and a much-diminished understanding of the connection between food, health and the environment, was named Raymond Blanc Sustainability Hero.