A Sustainable Kitchen
It’s safe to say we’re all familiar with the terms
“sustainable” and “green”— words that have been, perhaps, a bit overused, but
remain of utmost importance. You likely know what an heirloom tomato is, and
you’re drawn to locally grown vegetables. You’ve tried grass-fed beef and like
it. But as we’re growing more accustomed to knowing where the food on our
restaurant tables comes from, have we considered what’s happening, green-wise,
in the “back of the house,” in the kitchens of restaurants serving sustainable
food? Many restaurants, realizing that
they consume enormous amounts of energy and produce large amounts of waste each
day, have been taking the green concept to another level in order to reduce
their carbon footprint. Many have done this through composting, using
corn-based disposable products or creating gardens on their rooftops, to name a
few examples.
Here in
At Carnivale, chef
Mark Mendez says he’s been trying to go as green as he can. “It’s really difficult to go completely
‘green,’ especially with a big restaurant like ours,” he says. “You try to do
little things here and there, whatever is feasible.”
For Mendez, that
has been buying more produce from local farmers, pooling resources with other
restaurants on
“As such a large
restaurant, we generate so much waste,” Mendez says, noting that Carnivale’s
4,000 square-foot space seats more than 300 people. “We’re busy all the time,
which is great, but having seen the impact we have on the environment, I want
to do more than just improve my bottom line. I think it’s important to give
back to the world and community we live in.”
The challenge,
Mendez says, is finding a way to help out the community as much as possible,
while still being fiscally sound. Maybe now it’s not as important for
restaurants to worry about waste or energy use, “but in a few years we’re not
going to have a choice,” he says.
At the Art
Institute of Chicago’s kitchens that service the museum’s café, Garden
Restaurant and catering operations, general manager Kris Kotte works with the
museum’s food service management company, Bon Appetit Management Company
(BAMCO), to remain committed to green initiatives at the back of the house, in
addition to incorporating locally grown food into menus. BAMCO operates a number
of food service outlets around the country with a mission “to become a model
for what is possible in sustainable food service.”
Kotte has strived
to reduce the museum’s carbon footprint by working with a team to refine
processes in the kitchen that maximize labor and save energy. This has included shutting down the kitchen
during non-peak times and looking into energy-saving equipment. The museum recently purchased a dishwasher
with 60 percent energy savings. and is pursuing LEED certification for its
modern wing, opening in 2009. LEED certification, short for Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design, is a rating system created by the U.S. Green
Building Council for the design, construction and operation of environmentally
friendly buildings.
In addition, Kotte
has tried to reduce waste where possible—buying more products in bulk to reduce
packaging waste, cutting out a coffee cup size to reduce the need for more
disposables and reducing the amount of individual-sized condiment packets
offered.
He’s also been
purchasing more recyclable or biodegradable consumables, including silverware.
And, here’s a new one, even the containers for the eggs he uses are
recyclable.
Kotte receives his
eggs from Egg Innovations, a sustainable egg producer based in
Egg Innovations’
eggs come from chickens raised freely (meaning not cooped up in cages) on farms
throughout the
But in a country
where most eggs come in Styrofoam packaging, Brunnquell has focused just as
heavily on creating a packaging system that will better help the environment.
According to Brunnquell, Egg Innovations became the first egg producer to move to plastic for its packaging that’s fully recyclable, but also
efficient at holding the product without breakage.
“We have also done
away with a glue strip label and instead use soy-based ink to make our
packaging more recyclable,” Brunnquell says.
By working with
suppliers who are involved in the green movement, Kotte says, “We’ve made an
effort to cut off potential extra waste at the purchase point rather than
dealing with it later. It makes
recycling efforts much easier.”
Tim O’Shea, chief
executive officer of Clean Fish, a seafood supplier that works with sustainable
fisheries around the world, has also worked to lessen the impact of his
packaging on environmental waste.
“We have been
working to develop more eco-friendly packaging, getting away from Styrofoam
boxes,” which O’Shea says, have traditionally been the package of choice for
fish suppliers. Instead, he says, Clean Fish delivers some of its fish
shipments, notably shrimp, in large, plastic tubs that restaurants can either
recycle or reuse for other purposes in their operations.
Rather than simply
ensuring that the fish Clean Fish supplies have been safely harvested without
overfishing or damage to the country’s oceans, “it’s important that the way in
which we transport our product also continues those sustainable practices,”
O’Shea says. The tubs also come with printed information about the source of
the fish. “That way, top chefs who use our products can also read about where
they come from, too.”
At the moment,
O’Shea’s
O’Shea says the
cost differences between using the plastic buckets and Styrofoam is miniscule.
The next step, he says, has been working with more packaging companies to come
up with more recyclable or environmentally friendly solutions for its
containers. “No one in the seafood business can afford not to be concerned
about our impact on the environment,” O’Shea says.
Curious about
other restaurants incorporating green initiatives in their kitchens? Here is a brief list of some
Frontera Grill / Topolobampo
Rick Bayless has
committed to a recycling vendor and sends food waste to the
This River North restaurant is one of several concepts operated by B. R. Guest Restaurants, a restaurant group certified by the Green Restaurant Association. The GRA is a non-profit organization seeking to help restaurants incorporate environmentally friendly practices, including recycling and composting, using energy-efficient and water-saving equipment, uniforms made with organic cotton and other green initiatives.
Owner Mike Roper
says, “Wherever possible, we support sustainable agriculture and practices.” In
addition to incorporating locally grown and organic foods in Hopleaf’s menu, the
A Mano
Amid the bottled water backlash, owner Dan Sachs and chef John Caputo came up with a solution by installing an advanced water treatment system created by Natura which dispenses still or sparkling water into carafes for customers to drink from at the table. The result is good, clean water that’s better than tap, but without the excess waste of bottled water.
Shaw’s Crab House
In addition to serving up sustainable seafood and local foods that reduce gas and other resources created by far-reaching deliveries, this seafood giant has switched to compact-fluorescent light bulbs in the back of the house and has been researching recycling efforts. The restaurant has also installed Energy Star-rated cooking equipment to save energy and spray valves on dishwashing machines to save water use and uses eco-friendly dish soap. Like Frontera and Hopleaf, Shaw’s and its parent company, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, also works with ELPC to incorporate green initiatives in its group of restaurants.
The Mag Mile
hotel, in addition to working on creating a green roof by this summer and
attaining LEED certification, has switched over to non-disposable serving ware
and cloth napkins where possible and is also in the process of sourcing napkins
made from recycled paper for use in the lobby bar. The hotel has also committed
to purchasing green sustainable energy credits to supply 50 percent of its
annual energy consumption.
Published: April 06, 2008
Issue: 2008 Spring Green Issue
