Gastronomic Sustainability

Philosophy:

Nowadays, people are becoming increasingly interested in food and healthy cooking, but they are also more and more aware of the environmental issues associated with this discourse. We recognise that food is affecting the social and territorial balance, both in our immediate and international environment. When coming to the food that is actually being served at our tables, investment in energy and materials are not up to the standards of true environmental sustainability.

RESTAURANTS can become a key instrument to get the message across to guests and clients, about the need of developing a truly sustainability awareness, well-informed and that, progressively, involves more aspects of our daily life.
This awareness can be achieved by paying attention to the various aspects of the running of our restaurant For example, to the ingredients we use in the dishes we prepare, but also to some more subtle aspects, such as staff training, energy saving or the use of specific materials and procedures in the day-to-day running of the business.

There is no turning back: if we want to be truly coherent with a long-term project that is beneficial for everyone, we are all ethically obliged to understand and explain all these aspects and to spread the word as much as we can.

Restaurants can take actions and reinforce their sustainability by using, for example:

  • Locally grown vegetables and fruits, fully traceable.
  • Exotic products which origin, production and transport can be fully traceable.
  • Sustainably raised meat, fully traceable.
  • Acquaculture fish or wild fish that have been fished using methods and techniques that are respectful of the environment.
  • Applied technology, optimization of processes and ergonomics.

From an organoleptic and aesthetic point of view:

-Organoleptic and aesthetic:

*The product offered to guests must have familiar flavours as well as some exotic hints. It is imperative to find a balance between these elements and a sustainable researching work. Otherwise, the outcome will be meaningless and have no continuity.

*Aesthetic in dishes is very important: potential clients take photos, share them in Instagram and other social sites. In the era of Social Media, these play a key role when looking for the necessary balance we have talked about, earlier.

-In the day-to-day:

  • Commitment to small and local suppliers (eg. “Km 0”).
  • Widely promoting the direct and informed contact with the producers.
  • Commitment to food recycling.
  • Searching and use of recyclable packaging.
  • Commitment to foreign organisations that perform sustainable production.
  • Agreements with markets, supermarkets and small stores to give a second life to their unused products, by converting them into foods such as jams or sauces.

Social commitment

  • Some of this second-life food can be made jointly with social enterprises (Cuina Justa, Ciutat Meridiana etc.).
  • Some of the restaurant staff are professionals trained at Ciutat Meridiana and other similar organisations.

Technology used in the kitchen

  • The concept is reinforced by the use of specific cooking techniques and preservation methods, such as Sous-Vide.
  • The use of syphon as a practical tool for attractive recipes using some ingredients that would, otherwise, be cast aside for aesthetic reasons and for being too ripe.

Health

  • Bring ideas from the Healthcare sector into the world of restaurants. Predimed project, for instance, is a good starting point to put in value the importance of oil and nuts and, also, an excellent excuse to promote their use in the restaurants.

We provide a BUSINESS NETWORK of local producers and businesses that share this same ideology: meat and fish, fruits and vegetables, seeds and cereals, coffee and tea, wines and spirits…

We have created an exceptional PROFESSIONAL NETWORK integrated by Lecturers, Chemists, Marine Biologists, Engineers, Architects, Specialised Chefs…, with whom to develop the most complete study and development of a theoretical-practical plan to transform a restaurant into a SUSTAINABLE RESTAURANT.

SOME OF OUR CONSULTANCY AREAS:

  • ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY
  • Studies to promote alternatives to air conditioning
  • Renewable energies
  • INTERIOR SUSTAINABILITY
  • Eco-design
  • AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY
  • Use of the land
  • Erosion
  • Pesticides toxicity
  • Water consumption
  • Use of rainwater
  • Urban agriculture
  • Waste management
  • LIVESTOCK FARMING SUSTAINABILITY
  • Deforestation
  • Native animal species against traditional livestock farming
  • Km0 meat and how to encourage its use in high cuisine
  • Waste management
  • Other animal proteins: eggs and diary products.
  • Self-supply
  • The benefits of low intensive animal farming
  • Greenhouse Gases Emission Management
  • FISHING SUSTAINABILITY
  • Trawling and destruction of the animal forests
  • Pelagic fisheries and the collapse of the fishing grounds
  • Industrial longline fishing and collateral damage
  • Large predators fishing: Tuna and Shark
  • Fishing and shipping: Following the Carbon Footprint
  • Fishing in submarine mountains: destroying before discovering
  • Advantages and disadvantages of artisanal fishing
  • By-catch or how to change the selection of species consumption
  • Pollutant build-up in fishing
  • Invasive species on my plate
  • Wild or Captivity?
  • AQUACULTURE SUSTAINABILITY
  • The “blue revolution”
  • Mangrove swamps and shrimps
  • Industrial aquaculture and degradation of ecosystems
  • Fishing for fishes
  • Fattening farms and real aquaculture: distinguishing between maintaining and closing the cycle
  • Fattening using species genetic treatments
  • Aquaculture and antibiotics, the parasitism problem
  • Bivalve and algae farming
  • Gilt-head bream, wild or from aquaculture? Basis to understand the nutritional differences
  • The future: IMTA (Integrated Multi Trophic Aquaculture)
  • The balance between “farmed and wild-caught fish”
  • HHRR SUSTAINABILITY
  • Staff recruitment of workers belonging to vulnerable groups, of our most immediate surrounding.

It is impossible to be sustainable without subscribing the CORPORATIVE VALUES of respect, acceptance of the diversity, social inclusion and no-discrimination.

With no disregard, of course, to strategic BUSINESS VALUES, such as the productive factors and the achievement of objectives and goals. These two concepts represent a big asset to any organisation: they improve the work environment, encourage the team work and promote employees’ commitment. All these, resulting into major benefits for both, the community and the restaurant reputation.

COLLABORATORS:

Adding to the extensive experience in this field of Pere Castells and Pere Planagumà, we have the knowledge of experts of the stature of:

Dr Sergio Rossi Heras (PhD)

Research scientist specialized in marine natural resources and biological oceanography, focusing his attention in the health indicators of coastal benthic populations, coastal biological processes, flows of matter and energy in the benthic-pelagic coupling system, in the transplantation and aquaculture of marine organisms, and the management and conservation of marine wildlife. He is especially interested in the processes and conservation of the marine animal forests of the world.
He has published more than 90 articles in specialised magazines, including the SCI. He has also taken part in more than 50 national and international congresses and in 35 projects of fundamental and applied research and anthropogenic disturbances monitoring. He collaborates regularly with newspapers and magazines (Público, El País, Geo, Quercus, etc.), with more than 130 articles featured in those publications. He has also published some books, “Planeta azul: un universo en extinción” (DEBATE) or “Medusa” (Plaza & Janés).

Sandro Massari, Architecht

Graduated at the Architecture Faculty of the University of Rome (Italy), he worked in several projects for the Olimpic Games of 1992, in Barcelona.
His Master in Environmental Intervention (UPC, 1999) brings the understading to apply the concepts of sustainable development, energetic saving, and financial and environmental respect to all of his projects.
Development proposal of the Susqueda-Guillerie reservoir, for the Tourism Research Centre (CESF – Barcelona): an example of new urban, environmental and touristic planning in the area of the Susqueda-Guilleries reservoir, in the Catalan region of La Selva (Girona). This is promoted as a model of sustainable tourism that is both, of high quality and respectful to the environment.
On this new planning concept, the marking out of the areas does not solely attend to administration reasons, but to small scale tourism units. They have applied their own know-how, developed throughout the years, which introduces some “eco-management” elements, that have led to the design of its own planning policy aimed at maintaining the balance between economy-environment.
Voluntary worker in Senegal for COOPERA NGO, to write up various projects proposals for the building of schools in the ‘Mbour region.

EXAMPLES OF PERSONAL COMMITMENT IN SUSTAINABLE VENTURES:

Ángel León, Chef.

He is Head of “Aponiente” restaurant (**), at Puerto de Santa María and “BistrEau” at Mandarin Oriental Hotel, in Barcelona. He is an expert and advocate for the marine ecosystem, as well as restless researcher of innovative ingredients, such as plankton, zooplankton and salina plants.
Among its innovative ideas, we can mention the use of fish discards and the constant use of algae and saline crests farmed in the marshes near its Andalusian restaurant. All of which has awarded him with the deserved title of “Chef of the Sea”.

Felipe Celis, Chef and cooking teacher

Co-writer of the guide “Aprofitem el menjar” and the platform “Aprofitem Els Aliments”.

Ada Parellada, Chef.

All Barcelonians are invited to the open door dinners that she organises at her restaurant, “Semproniana”, where she uses food discards collected at the Ninot market and other shops nearby.
Using the hashtag #gastrorecup, their own guests become the promoters of these fun get together dinners that are, at the same time, activism and social events.

Georgina Regàs, Chef.

Expert in jams and preserves. In 2004, she opened a unique place in Catalunya, the Jam Museum, in Torrent, where they produce jams, preserves and jellies of more than 140 different flavours.
In cooperation with the Diandé Africa Association, she has created a cooperative of production of Mango Jam, in Ziguinchor (Senegal), with the aim of creating employment for the children’s mothers schooled through Diandé Africa.