Daylesford and The Captain's Galley named joint winners of Sustainable Restaurant of the Year

The businesses which both opened in 2002, were recognised for having the same 'outstanding commitment to sustainability' by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) at the awards at Oval Space in East London yesterday (23 February). 

Daylesford's three restaurant sites - in Kingham, Gloucestershire, Notting Hill and Pimlico serve food from the company's 2,000 acre organic farm in the Cotswolds and works hard to educate its customers about sustainable food and farming, while Jim Cowie, owner of the 18-cover The Captain's Galley, also known as Britain's most northerly mainland restaurant, will only serve seafood in season and in plentiful supply.  

The SRA said despite operating 700 miles apart, the winning restaurants 'perfectly demonstrated' the democratisation of sustainable dining and offered their diners the chance to 'eat well wherever they live and whatever their budget'. 

Award winners​

In all 20 businesses and individuals were honoured at the awards. Other winners included Rob Rees' Star Bistro in Cheltenham, which was named The People's Favourite after topping a poll of five restaurants shortlisted from 850 nominations, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, awarded the Raymond Blanc Sustainability Hero award for standing out as ‘the person who shows the greatest connection to seasonality, sustainability and traceability.’

SRA president Raymond Blanc said: Oval Space in East London, Raymond Blanc said: “These awards are for me as important as Michelin Stars. They represent what everybody who is passionate about food should regard as the perfect ingredients: good ethics, an understanding that food touches every part of our lives and a desire to ensure that future generations will be able to experience from it the same pleasure as we have.”

Now in its fourth year, the awards are designed to honour the food businesses who work extra hard to operate sustainably and ethically. This year's event, sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions, had the theme the Future of Food. 

Sustainable Restaurant Awards 2015: ​

• SRA Award for Sourcing -​ Winners: ODE-dining, Devon & River Cottage HQ, Devon. Runners-up: The Pig, Hampshire; Poco, Bristol. 
• SRA Award for Society - ​Winners: The Brookwood Partnership; Carluccio's. Runners-up: Boston Tea Party, South West & Midlands; Geronimo Inns, South East.
• SRA Award for the Environment​ - Winner: Arbour Restaurant at The Green House Hotel, Bournemouth. Runners-up: The Captain’s Galley, Caithness; Bistrot Bruno Loubet at The Zetter Hotel, London.
• English Sustainable Restaurant of the Year - ​Winner: Daylesford, Gloucestershire and London. Runners-up: The Pig, Hampshire; Ode, Devon.
• Scottish Sustainable Restaurant of the Year​ - Winner:  The Captain’s Galley, Caithness. Runners-up: The Bay Fish and Chips, Aberdeenshire; Cafe St Honoré, Edinburgh.
• Welsh Sustainable Restaurant of the Year - ​Winner: The Gallery, South Wales. Runners-up: The Clink, Cardiff; Enochs Fish & Chips, Llandudno. 
• Irish Sustainable Restaurant of the Year - ​​Winner: KSG, Cork. Runners-up: Made in Belfast, Belfast; Two and You, Dublin.
• International Sustainable Restaurant of the Year - ​Winner: Les Orangeries, France. Runners-up: The Lodge, Verbier (Virgin Limited Edition) Switzerland and Azurmendi, Spain.
• Sustainable Small Group of the Year - ​Winner: Lussmanns Fish & Grill, Hertfordshire. Runners-up: Drake & Morgan, London; Hawksmoor, London.
• Sustainable Large Group of the Year -​ Winner: D&D London. Runners-up: Carluccio’s, Wahaca, Boston Tea Party.
• Sustainable Pub of the Year - ​Winner: The Truscott Arms, London. Runners-up: Orwells, Oxon; The Imperial, London.
• Sustainable Restaurant of the Year - ​Winner: Daylesford; The Captain's Galley.
• Sustainable Hotel Restaurant of the Year-​ Winner: THE PIG, Hampshire. Runners-up: Bistrot Bruno Loubet at The Zetter Hotel, London; The Jetty, Dorset.
• Sustainable Caterer of the Year - ​Winner: bartlett mitchell Ltd. Runners-up: Lexington Catering; Artizian Catering Service.
• Most Improved Sustainability​ - Winner: Ceviche, London. Runners-up: The Akeman (Oakman Inns), Hertfordshire; Bingham Hotel, London; The Montpelier, London. 
• The People’s Favourite - ​Winner: Star Bistro, Gloucestershire. Runners-up: The Bay Fish and Chips, Aberdeenshire; The Eagle and Child, Lancashire; The Real Junk Food Project, Armley, Leeds; Silo, Brighton. 
• Sustainable Innovation Award - ​Winner: Wahaca. Runners-up: Boston Tea Party; Silo, Brighton.
• Best Food Waste Strategy - ​Winner: Bennett Hay. Runners-up: The Roebuck, London, The Brookwood Partnership.
• Raymond Blanc Sustainability Hero - ​Winner: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.