Bordeaux Quay - Britain's First Carbon Neutral Restaurant

Hot on the heels of the imminent arrival of Green Green Tea, the first carbon neutral food product, we have news of Britain’s first carbon neutral restaurant. The Independent newspaper recently reported on Barny Haughton’s newest project in Bristol. Haughton, one of the UK's most respected organic chefs, is working on Bordeaux Quay which will be a restaurant, bar, bistro, shop, bakery and cookery school that aims to reduce it’s impact on the environment. Haughton says, "Restaurants are massively unsympathetic to the environment. In almost all restaurants in the developed world, chefs cook vegetables until they are almost done and then stop them cooking using running water or ice. Then they refresh them with boiling water when they're ready to serve. But there's no awareness at all that this wastes lots of energy and water - commodities that are becoming increasingly precious. For years, I've taken my veg out of the pan about 50 seconds before they're done - they carry on cooking and are ready when they get to the table. It's really simple."

Bordeaux Quay aims to be zero-waste and carbon-neutral and to source the vast majority of its produce from within 50 miles. "Overall, we aim to be carbon neutral - in both the construction and the running of the restaurant. We haven't quite achieved that in the building phase, but in a modest way we've achieved enough." We say it’s a great and inspiring start. Bordeaux Quay has won a Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (RSA) award for the development of pioneering and innovative projects to benefit local communities. via: Pecha Kucha :: Bordeaux Quay.