Contribute to local activities and charitable projects such as street-festivals. Donate your surplus food. Collect money for charity or donate your employees` time to support local charities. Let your restaurant serve as a welcoming space outside busy hours, for those who need it, such as local charities and organisations. Create a welcoming space for parents with children, especially during the day.
Purchase your seasonal products locally and look for local specialties for your menu. Try to provide menu options that can accommodate different dietary preferences for your customers.
Foods need segregation on multiple counts. Ones that contain allergens, ones that are raw or from the ready-to-eat section and ones that are packed from the unpacked ones. When you receive food, the outer cartons should be removed to prevent contamination from entering your kitchen. A good system will have a designated space for the packaging which makes it easier to know that it is for recycling. Good stock control means you use up food in time, before the end of its shelf life. Storage at the right temperature prevents bacteria multiplying, keeps the food safe and ensures the shelf life lasts as the supplier intended it to. This prevents wasted food.
Your equipment and machinery must be checked regularly to ensure it is not damaged. Damage can lead to small pieces of metal getting into food. Well-maintained equipment is more efficient. For example, a boiler that has chalk build-up is unhygienic and takes more energy to heat. A freezer that is not well-ventilated can take more energy to cool food down. An air conditioner blocked with dust risks leaching contamination from bacteria into the atmosphere and takes excessive energy to cool.
Preservation extends the life of food. Correct freezing keeps food safe. When food is too hot and enters the freezer, it uses additional energy to cool down. It can also cause localised spots of warming on frozen or chilled foods already in the freezer which in turn lead to the growth of unwanted bacteria. When freezing is done safely, it can help prevent wastage of unused food. It can also be a way to use local foods that are out of season. Fermentation, when done safely, extends shelf life and creates a delicious and healthy product out of simple ingredients such as pickled vegetables. Needless to say, the products should be labelled and the shelf life indicated clearly.
In many countries, customers must have access to the full list of existing allergens in restaurant dishes. Allergen management is a highly challenging area for restaurants especially if the staff turnover is high – this can negatively impact knowledge transfer. A simple menu is the cornerstone of a sustainable restaurant, and it makes managing allergen listings easier. However, when you change your menu seasonally, be sure to indicate this to your customers and staff. When meals are made from scratch, you can be sure what the ingredients are and whether they have any allergens in them, which should be made known to the customers. Reputable suppliers will list the allergens on their products.
How you manage unused food and the remains of meals is an important consideration. For example, depending on how it was used, unused bread can be reused in a different meal in the form of breadcrumbs or could be composted, or thrown away. How you deal with this means different considerations on food safety as well as the amount of waste you generate.
Especially since the outbreak of COVID 19, food delivery and take-away has picked up momentum. Strong containers that keep food free of contamination and are easy to dispose of, are needed. Compostable containers are a good alternative and if you can use a returnable container scheme, check how the containers are cleaned.
Usually, subcontractors look after ancillary tasks such as delivery and pest control. They must ensure that their practices do not endanger the safety of food. Delivery drivers, for example, must ensure food is transported at the right temperature at the right time. Pest control subcontractors must ensure that the placement of their devices and chemicals used do not pose a risk of contamination in your kitchen. When your subcontractors are aware of your requirements, they may have ideas to offer. Some pest subcontractors are changing the way they catch pests to limit the use of harmful chemicals in the environment.
As a restaurant manager, you are responsible for the overall supervision of your FSMS (food safety management system). The FSMS needs to be documented and this means keeping up-to-date and accurate records. This also means doing checks - you or a responsible member of staff on your behalf - conducts the opening and closing checks, any on-top checks, and ensures that “prove it” documentation (such as cleaning and training records) are completed. When you have a system already established to manage food safety, it is easier to include checks necessary in other sustainability aspects. Recording the status of a new process and monitoring its progress is another part of managing sustainability, for example, energy usage.
To verify that your food safety system is working, you might want to have it checked independently. There are professional service providers, who can tailor inspection and analysis programs for your premises. Having this external input is a way for you to improve, and an endorsement that your food safety management is working plus an additional assurance you can give to your guests. Similar services exist in sustainability management although these are not as common. Ask your local authority or wholesaler for their recommendations.
Areas for washing up, garbage bins or vegetable processing should be separated from clean areas. It helps to manage the flow of waste and ensure the correct waste is recycled or reused. For example, clean rinse water can be used to water your garden if you have one.
A professional cleaning program that is specific to your premises, uses the right chemicals with the correct dosage, and suitable for the correct equipment, not only gets things clean but also prevents damage to your local environment from excessive chemicals which add to your costs. Taking a step further, you might consider environmentally- friendly cleaning chemicals. When you clean as you go, you prevent a build-up of waste and reduce the risk of contaminating clean areas by overflowing bins, for instance. Clearly labelled containers in a separated area make it easier to recycle or reuse waste.
Make it clear that you run an inclusive restaurant and that you do not tolerate discrimination whether it be employees or customers. When you are hiring, consider local employees, and people with different social backgrounds, cultures, and histories, including migrants.
Equipment that is right for the job makes the kitchen more efficient. Modern, well designed equipment is easy to clean and efficient to operate which saves time and energy and reduces the risk of contamination.
Make an impact with responsible sourcing and only use responsibly sourced fish and food that is organic, nutritious, seasonal, ethically traded, local and regional. Moreover, try to buy foods that encourage biodiversity, do not involve waste and do not destroy forests. If you want to find out more, go to the responsible sourcing chapter.
When the cold chain is secured chilled food is safe and keeps longer which in turn minimises the amount of waste. Chilled food should be transported in a chilled vehicle and where that is not possible in temperature- controlled containers that can carry frozen blocks.