Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) have named Christain Puglisi’s Italian-inspired restaurant, Bæst and its sister bakery Mirabelle, Food Made Good Business of the Year at the Food Made Good Awards.
The Copenhagen restaurant which is certified organic and sources much of its fresh produce from its own farm, received the award from Raymond Blanc OBE, President of the SRA. The award was one of 17 presented by Blanc and SRA Vice President Prue Leith, at a special ceremony at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Lindley Hall in London.
Baest pizza
Raymond Blanc, who also curated the lunch at the awards ceremony, featuring dishes prepared by Steve Titman, executive chef of Summer Lodge and Nick McGeown from Lussmanns Fish and Grill, as well as Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, said: “The Food Made Good Awards are so critical, recognising the work and commitment of individuals and organisations responsible for bringing new ethics to our food production, and sharing those values in our kitchens and with consumers.
“The awards truly remind us why we are so proud to work in this industry. Food and its production touches every part of our lives; it will define the society and communities of tomorrow, as well as our health and the health of the planet. Each and every one of the winners have demonstrated food’s huge potential as a force for good. I am honoured to play some part in rewarding their significant achievements.”
Bæst and Mirabelle, which received the highest rating in the SRA’s Food Made Good Sustainability rating to win, follow in the award-winning footsteps of their Michelin-starred sister restaurant Relæ, which won the Food Made Good International Restaurant award in 2016 as well as the Sustainable Restaurant award at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in the same year. British restaurants in the same category included Daylesford in Edinburgh; bistro Cafe in St Honoré; Bristol tapas restaurant Poco and The Shed in west London.
Baest interior
Customers at Bæst, in the Nørrebro area, can enjoy some of the 350 varieties of fruit and vegetables grown on the nearby farm. Their pizzas use mozzarella freshly made in-house every day using milk from the farm’s 15-cow herd and salami prepped by the chefs using pork from a local free-range drove.
In a bid to make the most of their own food and keep waste to a minimum, the whey from the cheese-making is used to make croissants in the bakery, where customers are encouraged to use reusable bags with a 10% discount on baked goods. Surplus bread is sent to their chicken supplier and coffee grounds to a mushroom grower while gluts of fruit and vegetables are pickled and fermented. All the electricity it uses comes from hydro-electric power and it is on a mission to slash its energy use – meeting annual 10% reduction targets.
The Food Made Good Awards reward restaurants and food service businesses whose extraordinary accomplishments in the last year have driven progress in the industry and demonstrated that all food can be made delicious, ethical and sustainable.
As well as the ten Food Made Good themed awards there are a further six categories including the Raymond Blanc Sustainability Hero Award which went to Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent, whose transformative School Food Plan introduced free school meals for all infant pupils and was responsible for the return to the curriculum of cooking lessons. The pair campaigned successfully to maintain their hard-fought gains when the Government’s recent manifesto threatened to reverse their work. The award also recognised the achievement of the Leon founders in bringing healthy fast food to the high street.
FOOD MADE GOOD AWARDS 2017 winners in full:
Support Global Farmers: for the business going above and beyond in ethical sourcing. Winner: The Breakfast Club Runners-up: bartlett mitchell Plymouth University
Value Natural Resources: for the business innovating to better preserve energy and water. Winner: Sheffield Hallam University Runners-up: Les Orangeries, Lussac Les Chateaux Pizza Hut Restaurants
Treat Staff Fairly: for the business doing most to value staff through pay & beyond the paycheque. Winner: Pizza Hut Restaurants Runners-up: Sheffield Hallam University The Breakfast Club, Ten sites in London and Brighton
Feed People Well: for the business doing the most to support adults and kids make good choices when eating out. Winner: Jamie’s Italian Runners-up: Artizian Catering Services Cardiff Metropolitan University
Celebrate Local: for the business making the very most of the larder on its doorstep Winner: The Gallivant, Camber Runners-up: Bangkok Canteen, Gloucester Food in Residence, University of Manchester
Source Fish Responsibly: for the business doing most to help ensure plenty more fish in the sea Winner: Kingfisher Fish & Chips, Plymouth Runners-up: London School of Economics The Bay Fish & Chips, Stonehaven
Serve More Veg and Better Meat: rewarding the most innovative ways of flipping the menu Winner: Petersham Nurseries Runners-up: Lussmanns Fish & Grill Poco
Reduce Reuse Recycle: for the most impactful way of keeping as much as possible out of landfill. Winner: Thali Café, Bristol and Oxford Runners-up: Costa Coffee Relae, Copenhagen
Waste No Food: rewarding the very best ways of ensuring food stays out of the bin. Winner: Gourmet Goat, London Runners-up Pizza Hut Restaurants Poco, Bristol
Support The Community: for the business making food do good as well as taste good in its area. Winner: Friends House Restaurant, London Runners-up: Friska, Bristol, Luton, Manchester The Wheatsheaf, Chilton Foliat
People’s Favourite Restaurant: Publicly-voted award run in partnership with delicious. magazine Winner: Lucky Beach Café, Brighton Runners-up: Harissa, Newcastle Petersham Nurseries, London The Gate, Three sites in London
Food Made Good Supplier of the Year: Winner: Vegware Runners-up: Select Butchery Yealands
Food Made Good Champion 2017: The business doing the most to promote positive change via the Food Made Good online community Winner: OXO Tower Restaurant Bar & Brasserie Runners-up: Bangkok Canteen, Gloucester Plymouth University Yurt Lush, Bristol
Good to Go Award: For the restaurant doing most to prove that you don’t have to remove principles when taking food away Winner: Chris’s Fish & Chips, Barwell, Leicestershire Runners-up:
Captain Café, Cradley Heath, Birmingham
Green Tomato Café, Brighton
The Captain’s Table, Glengormley, Northern Ireland
Open Right Award: Celebrating a site opened in last 12 months with sustainability built-in. Winner: Nando’s Cambridge Retail Park
Raymond Blanc Sustainability Hero: For individual(s) doing the most to create positive change across the sector Winner: Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent
Food Made Good Business of the Year: The best in the business, excelling across the board in the Food Made Good Sustainability Rating Winner: Baest and Mirabelle
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