Although the focus is often on fashion or everyday consumer products when it comes to ecological impact, the importance of catering is often put aside while these establishments are major players in this field. Whether it is for the transport of food, its selection or for the limitation surrounding the use of non-reusable materials, restaurateurs do not lack originality to innovate. Some restaurateurs are now able to combine culinary know-how and ecology to offer their customers an experience worthy of the name.
Food
In line with their desire for quality and eco-responsibility, many restaurateurs are now adopting a vision closer to their consumers and suppliers. Fresh, natural and organic products from local producers are now more and more common. By leaving aside exotic and imported foods, they manage to reduce the use of polluting pesticides and fertilizers and the excessive transport of imported products while supporting local trade. In fact, some restaurants are even taking the experience to the extreme by offering products from their own vegetable garden, which allows them to attest without any doubt to the quality of their products. In addition, this new mentality seems to push restaurateurs to reduce the use of disposable packaging in order to reduce the amount of waste produced.In recent years, we have seen a decrease in the use of red meat on the menu compared to poultry and pork. Indeed, meats such as beef and lamb emit respectively 27kg and 39kg of CO2 during the production of 1kg of their meat while chicken or pork emit 7kg and 12kg of CO2 per kilo produced. With the growing vegetarian and vegan trends, many restaurants are reducing the amount of meat offered on their menu and replacing it with other foods with a lower ecological impact.
Commitment
By benefiting from a promising supply chain, owners can benefit from optimized deliveries to reduce the recurrence of their suppliers' trips as well as products specific to each season, allowing them to color their menu with new and original products with each new season. It is also possible to make changes in the kitchen of restaurateurs by using older and less energy-intensive cooking methods than the electric stove for example. This is the case of Maison Boire in Granby, one of the most ecological restaurants in Canada, which uses charcoal instead of a conventional oven. Obviously, this requires training employees in this less common cooking method, but this method drastically reduces the environmental impact of the restaurant's operations.Waste management
Food waste is probably THE biggest problem in the food industry. Fortunately, there are many solutions to counter the problem. To avoid losing food that is still of good quality, it is possible to reuse these foods that are close to their use-by date to concoct new recipes. In addition, one of the best tips is to keep strict control over the deliveries of goods to ensure that there are no orders that are too large, leading to waste. Several applications and organizations now do business with the restaurant world to recover unsold items from restaurants and give them to the most deprived or to put them on sale at ridiculous prices for people on low incomes. We can also think of the applications Too Good To Go or Sauvegarde.app.In addition, the appearance of the "doggy bag", allowing customers to take their food home, is an excellent solution to counter food waste. Simple solutions such as serving water in pitchers at the tables, using washable cutlery or setting up a composting system are now an integral part of ecological restaurants.