Forget the typical tapas bar
INSTOCK
instock 80% of the product that forms its menu comes from foods that would have become waste . The remaining 20% are basic products, such as olive oil or milk, which they do have to buy. With three restaurants in the Netherlands ( Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht ), from Instock they boast of being the first "anti-food waste" restaurant in the country. These restaurants were founded by four former supermarket workers Albert Heij n, who after seeing how much food was left unsold, decided to get down to work and do something to fight against that reality. The chefs of this restaurant prepare the daily menus from the ingredients that arrive, so innovation and imagination are part of their day to day.
spring
The chef and former Vogue food editor, Skye Gyngell , offers in his London restaurant Spring a 'pre-theater' menu (only available between 5:30 and 6:45 pm) made from scraps . This menu changes daily, is made from rejected product and does not have modification options for allergies or food intolerances. The price is considerably lower than the price of the a la carte menu. Also, during the month of June - on the occasion of the London Food Month festival -, Gyngell will join forces with chef Merlin Labron-Johnson to offer a dinner made exclusively with product that would otherwise go to waste. It can be booked at this link.
Instock: creativity to power
BLUE HILL
Celebrated chef and author Dan Barber is a staunch advocate for the fight against food waste at all levels of the food chain. In your New York restaurants Blue Hill (the one at Stone Barns is at number 11 on the list of The 50 Best Restaurants in the World unveiled this week in Australia) Barber and his team are experimenting with initiatives to prevent waste and also to open the eyes of their customers. One of the most celebrated is WastED , a pop-up restaurant that opened in Blue Hill in New York in 2015 and that they have recently brought to Europe, to the terrace of Selfridges in London. This project seeks draw attention to perfectly edible and nutritious food that are usually discarded in households or by producers, such as fish heads or the stale bread.
MOTTAINAI FARM RADICE
In a country like Japan, where food presentation standards reach perfection, this café located in the Daikanyama area of Tokyo does not give up putting on the table precious dishes . However, it does so using imperfect vegetables and fruits that do not pass the aesthetic criteria of supermarkets . His own name, Mottainai , points to the Japanese expression that defines regret and animosity towards the waste of useful things, such as food or natural resources. At night the cafe becomes a bar and restaurant.
In Radice they seek to make you smile
SILO
This restaurant located in the south of England, in Brighton , goes one step further and seeks zero waste. And for that, every detail counts. Food arrives in reusable containers, some of their dishes are made from plastic bags, the furniture is made of materials that would have become waste… But not only that, they also have an aerobic digester that is capable of generating up to sixty kilos of compost in twenty-four hours. When Silo says “zero waste” they mean it very seriously.
RESTLOS GLÜCKLICH E.V.
Located in the Berlin district of Neukölln , this restaurant contributes to the fight against food waste based on use vegetables and fruits rejected by supermarkets . The reasons why these foods do not reach or go on sale have little to do with nutrition. The most common are for not having the shape or color that is considered optimal for sale , because the supermarket does not have enough space or because the wrappers in which they are packed are damaged.
Tempting? OH YEAH!
THE REAL JUNK FOOD PROJECT
The food served at this network of organic cafes – most located in the UK, but also in Germany, France either Australia - is priceless, his philosophy is that every customer pay what they can . What they offer is a healthy menu created from organic raw materials that would otherwise have gone to waste. On their website they have an index with all the cafes that are part of their network.
LE FREEGAN PONY
France has been the first country in the world to prohibit supermarkets from throwing food away by law. Despite this, Le Freegan Pony is an initiative that is surprising in a city with a restoration as classic as Paris. This restaurant was founded in honor of its rebellious spirit by serving vegan food – most of it sourced from the Rungis market – in a busy building on the outskirts of town. The founders of Le Freegan Pony subscribe to the "Freeganism" philosophy, which rejects consumerism and waste . Customers pay what they consider fair, the menu has no prices . It is currently under construction and will reopen again at the end of the summer.
LITTLE BIT
This tapas bar located in one of the liveliest areas of East London, in Broadway Market, has won the award for the most sustainable restaurant in the United Kingdom in 2016. They boast that the only fresh products that matter are citrus fruits and in their two restaurants -the first Poco restaurant is in Bristol-, have achieved scores above 93% in the audits of the Association of Sustainable Restaurants . Among other reasons, this high rating is because 90% of the product they use is British and most of it comes from a distance between 50 and 100 miles. In addition, more than 95% of their waste is recycled or converted into compost and logically their menu changes according to the season.
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