Restaurant Sustainability

Some of the most waste comes from restaurants.  Water, food, and energy is wasted.  From the buildings themselves, to how the food is produced and brought to the restaurant, to running the restaurant, to throwing food in the garbage, waste is everywhere.   An English chef, Arthur Potts Dawson, is trying to change the restaurant industry through his vision of sustainable restaurants.  His childhood was meager, growing up on a farm in Dorset.  With little money around, his family learned how to get by with what they had.  If it was cold, the heat wasn't turned on.  Rather they'd throw on jumpers.  Turning off the lights was essential to keeping energy costs down. Arthur's background set the stage for his passion in food and conserving resources.  He has worked along renown chefs including Jamie Oliver.  He opened two restaurants in England.  This is when he started practicing sustainability in the kitchen because he had free reign to what he wanted in his own place.  His restaurant Acorn House is made up of sustainable and recyclable floors.  The chairs are recycled and recyclable.  The tables are forestry commissioned.  There is use of wall space with shelving to hold products that customers can view.  The restaurant runs on sustainable energy, wind in particular.  All bulbs and paint are energy efficient and low chemical. There is a reconditioned coffee machine.  His emphasis is on reuse.  He uses a car tire for a pot that is growing an orange tree which uses compost as fertilizer.  His menu is created to allow the customer to choose the amount and volume of food they want as opposed to a traditional restaurant forcing you to choose what is on  its menu.  Food waste is put into a special dehydrating machine which is then put into a compost.  

He uses the compost and soil for his rooftop garden which produces much of the food used in the restaurant.  This eliminates transportation energy.  There is a water filtration system to reuse water.  Water is essential.  And so much to Arthur Potts Dawson, that his second restaurant is called Waterhouse.  

The interior design is similar to Acorn House, but Waterhouse is completely run on electricity and in particular, hydroelectricity.   There is no air conditioner, but the restaurant sits alongside a river where the temperature of the water is used to cool and heat the restaurant.   He is moving to make a total of five restaurants, but Arthur Potts Dawson is trying to reach the general public. Most people who go to his restaurants are already looking for the sustainability factor he offers.  His next project is to make a no-waste supermarket with the hopes to reach everyday people.  As more companies turn toward higher efficiency and sustainability, Arthur Potts Dawson and his restaurants could be used as a model of what's possible.