Run by the Sustainable Restaurant Association, the awards recognise restaurants and foodservice businesses whose accomplishments in the last year have driven progress in the industry and demonstrated that “food can be made delicious, ethical and sustainable”.
Poco Tapas Bar in Bristol was named Food Made Good Business of the Year, repeating its success of 2016. The Stokes Croft venue was praised for keeping food on the plate and out of the bin, improving its relationship with its suppliers and a menu that celebrates vegetables and high quality meat (meaty dishes feature less intensive species and cuts like muntjac deer and pig’s head terrine).
Seaside café ODE-truefood - which was named Sustainable Restaurant of the Year at Restaurant magazine’s National Restaurant Awards early this year - scooped the Reduce Reuse Recycle award for running a community-wide campaign to rid its village of single-use plastic.
Piri piri chicken purveyor Nando’s was honoured for its work on using less energy and water, while JD Wetherspoon won the Waste No Food award for its 2018 war on food waste, which saw it tacking the issue from all angles. The pub giant offered smaller portions of dishes, fed thousands of people with surplus via Fareshare and switched waste contractor to send unavoidable waste to anaerobic digestion.
The Source Fish Responsibly award was won by Lussmanns Sustainable Fish and Grill where a five-year plan to overhaul its seafood menu now means diners can enjoy ten different dishes featuring eight species – 90% of which are Marine Stewardship Council certified. Cod cheeks, mackerel, crab, hake and bream are just some of the varieties on the menu.
“Year after year, chefs and restaurateurs continue to delight me with their winning submissions to The Food Made Good Awards, demonstrating how food can be a powerful force for good,” says SRA president Raymond Blanc OBE. “Their greatest reward would be for consumers to eat in their dining rooms and for their colleagues across the industry to follow their lead.”
The winners in full
Food Made Good Business of the Year: The best in the business, excelling across the sustainable board
WINNER
Poco Tapas Bar, Bristol
Celebrate Local and Seasonal: for the business making the very most of the larder on its doorstep
WINNER
FoodSpace, across Ireland
RUNNERS-UP
Kai, Galway
Loam, Galway
Serve More Veg and Better Meat: rewarding the most innovative ways of flipping the menu
WINNER
Woods Hill Table, Massachusetts, USA
RUNNERS-UP
The Good Egg, London
Poco Tapas Bar, Bristol
Source Fish Responsibly: for the business doing most to help ensure plenty more fish in the sea
WINNER
Lussmanns Sustainable Fish and Grill, Hertfordshire
RUNNERS-UP
Angel Hill Food Company, UK-wide
University of Plymouth
Support Global Farmers: for the business going above and beyond in ethical sourcing
WINNER
bartlett mitchell, London
RUNNERS-UP:
The Gallivant, East Sussex
Open Right Award: Celebrating site opened in last 12 months with sustainability built-in
WINNER
Fhior, Edinburgh
RUNNERS-UP
Claw, London
Hawksmoor, Edinburgh
Value Natural Resources: for the business innovating to better preserve energy and water
WINNER
Nando’s UK & Ireland
RUNNERS-UP
Eden Caterers, London
Sticklebarn at Langdales, Cumbria
Reduce Reuse Recycle: for the most impactful way of keeping as much as possible out of landfill
WINNER
ODE-truefood, Devon
RUNNERS-UP
Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxfordshire
University of Winchester
Waste No Food: rewarding the very best ways of ensuring food stays out of the bin
WINNER
JD Wetherspoon, UK wide
RUNNERS-UP
Petersham Nurseries, London
Vacherin, London
Good to Go Award: For the restaurant doing most to prove you don’t have to remove principles when taking away food
WINNER
Brunch, Merseyside
RUNNERS-UP
Joe & ‘Za, London
Kingfisher Fish and Chips, Plymouth
Food Made Good Supplier of the Year
WINNER
Belu
RUNNERS-UP
Belazu Ingredient Company
Squeaky Energy
The People’s Favourite: Publicly-voted award run in partnership with delicious. magazine
WINNER
Dusty Knuckle Pizza, Cardiff
RUNNERS-UP
The Black Swan, Oldstead, Yorkshire
The Breakfast Club, Soho
Treat Staff Fairly: for the business doing most to value staff through pay and beyond the paycheque
WINNER
Cafe St Honoré, Edinburgh
RUNNERS-UP
The Breakfast Club, London & South East
LP Food at Work
Support The Community: for the business making food do good as well as taste good in its area
WINNERS
The Breakfast Club, London and South East
RUNNERS-UP
Harissa Kitchen, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Nando’s, UK & Ireland
Feed People Well: for the business doing the most to support adults and kids make good choices when eating out
WINNER
Farmacy Kitchen, London
RUNNERS-UP
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Gather and Gather, Bristol
Food Made Good Champion: for the individual doing most to engage the industry on the key sustainability issues on the SRA’s online member community
WINNER
Jim Crouch of University of Plymouth
RUNNERS-UP
Henry Burgess of Henry’s Burgers, Essex
Lauren Haffenden of Lakeside at University of Surrey
Raymond Blanc Sustainability Hero: An individual doing the most to create positive change across the sector
WINNER
Professor Tim Lang
