Seven special members of the Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery Collective celebrate customers, community and sustainability

Wandering Cooks on sustainability

• WHO: Angela Hirst, director
• WHAT: An ethical food incubator transforming Brisbane food culture
• WHERE: Cnr Fish Lane & Cordelia Street, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia

“We have a commitment to supporting local free range egg farmers, and sourcing heritage breed pasture-reared animal products and sustainable fish. We don’t use disposables that aren't biodegradable, and we use sustainably-produced coffee. Our wine list features biodynamic, minimal-intervention wines from small producers. And, we have a selection criteria for being able to incubate in our kitchens, including a taste test and originality test.”

To read more about Wandering Cooks, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Bird Dog on a dish that represents their food philosophy

• WHO: Robbie Wilson, owner/chef
• WHAT: A multicultural pile-up of sorts celebrating the cuisine of the modern-day Peninsula

• WHERE: 420 Ramona Street, Palo Alto, California 94301, USA

“Buri, horseradish, citron and dashi: A crudo of wild-caught Buri is seasoned with a dashi made from its own bones, slowly dried over an open fire. The dashi is seasoned with an in-house fermented rice vinegar and a small amount of white tamari. Finally, local canton and fresh horseradish is grated over the raw fish to balance the fatty qualities of both the sauce and the Buri itself. Here we have utilized a seasonal fish offering, and also the entire fish itself. Oftentimes at Bird Dog, we season a vegetable or fish with the ingredient itself. Salting and dehydrating the items and reintroducing it as a ‘seasoning’ is somewhat of a trademark at Bird Dog. We are lucky enough to have a surplus of quality ingredients at our disposal, and simply because they visually may be unappealing to an individual shopping at a Farmers’ Market, we find ways to preserve the overripe ingredient as well.”

To read more about Bird Dog, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Bird Dog

Bobo Social on the environment

• WHO: Michael Benson, founder
• WHAT: A London-based restaurant and cocktail bar
• WHERE: 95 Charlotte Street, London, W1T 4PZ, UK

“We are always looking for ways to minimize our impact on the environment. We therefore no longer offer bottled mineral water (we now offer purified water) or plastic straws (all straws are paper), and we try to recycle food waste where possible. We also source the majority of our meats locally and our products are all cut, cured, smoked and hung by us, at our butchery in Islington, North London.”

To read more about Bobo Social, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Bobo Social

Alder Room on the benefits of preservation

• WHO: Ben Staley, chef/co-owner
• WHAT: A modern restaurant that invites diners to interact with regional cuisine
• WHERE: 10328 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 1Y7, Canada

“We are passionate about products and preserving those products. Along with being in the largest northern-most major city in the world, preservation is absolutely crucial to how we work. With preservation, there is very little food waste, because there are so many different ways to preserve. We can take vegetable peels, pulp from juicing, off-cuts, etc., and turn them into pickles, ferments, or powders to be used later. But also, because we only serving a tasting menu with pre-purchased seats, we are able to purchase and prepare the exact amount of food that we need each night. We're not prepping, hoping that it'll be busy, then throwing a bunch of food away."

To read more about Alder Room, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Alder Room

EiO & the Hive on community

• WHO: Jennifer Masley, founder/managing partner
• WHAT: A community doing its best for people & the planet
• WHERE: 5304 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37209, USA

“The Hive is our community. Just like bees have an intimate network of roles and responsibilities necessary to keep them happy and healthy, we as humans need this too. We include local artisanal suppliers in our kitchen and retail area. We host free community events – our Sunday morning parking lot parties are a rotation of yoga and local fitness studio teaching classes and guests join us for brunch after; we hold Sunday evening dinners and conversations with local experts on health and products, and more.”

To read more about EiO & The Hive, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

EiO & The Hive

BOCA on their customers

• WHO: Omar Shihab, founder & general manager
• WHAT: A homegrown Mediterranean tapas restaurant, bar & wine cellar dining room
• WHERE: Podium Level, Gate Village 6, Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai

“We are passionate about guest recognition and providing a personal approach to every customer who walks through the door. Value for money is key when it comes to dining at BOCA. Most importantly, we are proud to be a local home-grown brand and we are always backing and working with local producers, farmers and fishermen to showcase the best of what they have to offer. Based out of Dubai’s Financial Centre (an important stop on Dubai’s art trail) we are also passionate about art and have dedicated our walls and even part of our ceiling to a rotating art gallery managed by a local partner curator.”

To read more about Boca, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

BOCA

Cloverdale Restaurant and Farm on community

• WHO: Patrick Ayres, chef/owner
• WHAT: A fine dining tasting menu restaurant located in Steamboat Springs
• WHERE: 207 9th Street, Steamboat Springs, Colorado 80487, USA

“I've been working on a non-profit start-up called the Routt County Passion Project that introduces teenagers that may not be athletically or academically gifted to other possible trades that they can be passionate about, instead of turning to drugs or alcohol. The first trade we are starting with is food production, both in the restaurant as well as in terms of growing. I'll be spending two weeks with the kids out at the farm, followed by four weeks in the kitchen learning the basics. The program will conclude with a lunch that they cook and serve to their parents.”

To read more about Cloverdale Restaurant and Farm, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Cloverdale Restaurant and Farm