Competition was fierce at the second Sustainable Restaurant Awards, which were announced on 4th February at OXO2 in the OXO Tower. To reflect the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA)’s growth there were six more award categories announced for 2013. The SRA also announced Unilever Food Solutions as the awards’ headline sponsor, continuing the close working relationship between the two organisations.
An award for an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to helping create a more responsible restaurant industry – named after Sustainable Restaurant Award President Raymond Blanc – was among the new categories at the SRAs. As well as the Raymond Blanc Sustainability Hero Award, other new awards were given for Sustainable Pub, Sustainable Hotel Restaurant, as well as for the most Sustainable Restaurant in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London, and the Most Improved Restaurant.
Fourteen of the 17 awards were presented to those restaurants that have performed best in the SRA Sustainability Rating during 2012. The remaining awards – SRA Special Award for Best Food Waste Strategy, SRA Innovation Award and the Raymond Blanc Sustainability Hero – were judged separately.
The winners are:
Most Improved – Babylon at the Roof Gardens
Pub of the Year – Preston Park Tavern
Small Group of the Year – Wahaca
Hotel of the Year – Dixcart Bay Hotel
Welsh Restaurant of the Year – Enochs
Scottish Restaurant of the Year – The Bay
London Restaurant of the Year – Friends House
Large Group of the Year – Marriott Hotels International
Unilever Food Solutions Food Waste Strategy – The Savoy
Innovation Award – Feng Sushi
Sourcing Award – River Cottage
Environment Award – Poco
Society Award – Café St Honore
Restaurant of the Year – café-ODE
Raymond Blanc Sustainability Hero – Sheila Dillon of BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme
Mark Linehan, managing director of the SRA, says: “We saw an incredibly high standard at the 2012 awards, and that has inspired the winners and those who just missed out others to go the extra mile. We believe that these awards are not only providing restaurants with the recognition they deserve for their terrific efforts, but they are also shining a light on the highest restaurant standards and helping push the whole industry towards a more responsible way of operating.”
Tracey Rogers, managing director of Unilever Food Solutions, adds: “We are delighted to be supporting the SRA’s awards which encourage and reward the principles to which we are firmly committed.”
The SRA’s Sustainability Ratings appear in Giles Coren’s reviews in The Times, Olive magazine’s Pro vs Punter reviews as well as in Harden’s and Les Routiers.
