Olivia PowellThe Sustainable Restaurant Association recently hosted its annual Food Made Good Awards at Troxy, in East London.
The Food Made Good Awards celebrate advancement and commitment to waste and carbon reduction from the UK’s producers and restaurants.
The awards selected producers, caterers and drinks providers and a innovative waste strategy to best demonstrate the future of sustainability for the 500 attendees.
Attendees were welcomed to the event by a VIP drinks reception and a selection of vegan and vegetarian canapes supplied by Fooditude and Poco Tapas Bar, as well as vegetarian street food provided by KERB. This aimed to showcase independent businesses with a focus on reducing food waste and miles.
Green & Blacks chocolate and Propercorn supplied snack options while a main course was provided by The Cinnamon Club using cobia, farmed sustainably by Open Blue.
The event also featured sustainable drinks options, including Freedom Beer which advocates zero water waste in the production of its beers and British Uncommon Wine, whose canned wines have reduced waste in all aspects of production and delivery.
Hyke Gin, which is made of grapes that would be otherwise wasted, Reliquum Cocktails, who make their drinks using leftover apples, and Square Root Soda, who used only compostable cups were also available for guests to try.
Recycling champions First Mile made sure all waste produced at the ceremony was correctly sorted, making them an essential part of the ceremony.
The awards featured entertainment from the Trinity Jazz Trio, Eyecon Art and DJ Nikolas Babic, and were hosted by bestselling author and cook Melissa Hemsley alongside celebrated food broadcaster Prue Leith and celebrity chef Raymond Blanc.
Head of sales for Troxy and project manager for the evening, Millie Tuppini, said: “We absolutely loved working with the Sustainable Restaurant Association on this year’s Food Made Good awards.
“Every detail was addressed to ensure that we minimised the impact of the evening, including having a multi-stream recycling policy throughout the venue and carefully selected ingredients for every dish. The evening saw businesses from huge casual dining operators Nando’s through to independent restaurants all over the country celebrated for a dedication to sustainability which runs throughout their operations every day.”
Sustainable Restaurant Association events manager, Roz Salik, said: “It was a pleasure and privilege to host our Food Made Good Awards at Troxy this year.
“From the day we started planning the event through to the big night itself, we have enjoyed the shared ethos and commitment to stage an awards ceremony that all 500-plus guests could enjoy knowing that it didn’t cost the earth.”