Seven Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery restaurants share the initiatives and beliefs they are passionate about

French Meadow Café & Bluestem Bar on two dishes they love

• WHO: Lynn Gordon, founder/owner
• WHAT: An organic farm-to-table café & bakery from one of the foremother of organics
• WHERE: 2610 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55408, USA

“Our vegan, organic, gluten-free Earth Wings have become a hit not only with vegans, but with omnivores too. The seasoned, roasted cauliflower in sesame barbecue sauce, organic celery, and fresh, cilantro-soy dressing express much of what we stand for in terms of dietary balance – and happens to be absolutely delicious. This dish also exemplifies our commitment to health and quality over profit considerations; celery is a produce item that is truly organic at very few restaurants due to cost, but as it is one of the ‘dirty dozen’ produce items that are unsafe unless organically grown, we would never consider using anything but organic celery. True to our commitment to fresh, ‘from scratch’ food, every element of the dish is house-made.

“Another staple dish that is close to our roots is our Petite Sirloin and Sweet Potato Salad, which is one of our many non-vegetarian dishes that emphasize high quality, locally-sourced and humanely-produced meat with an abundant balance of plant-based items. The seared petite sirloin from the local Revier Cattle Company is paired with crispy roasted sweet potatoes, wild arugula, shaved red onion, locally-produced goat cheese, and our signature whole-grain mustard vinaigrette. It is fresh, healthy and a beautiful mix of colours on the plate, while satisfying the traditional meat eater.”

To read more about French Meadow Café & Bluestem Bar, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Restaurant Shik on fermenting

• WHO: Peter Jo, owner/operator
• WHAT: Laneway Korean eatery with local produce & sustainable wines

• WHERE: 30 Niagara Lane, Melbourne, Victora 3000, Australia

“We preserve or salt-ferment most seafood leftovers and will be experimenting in incorporating this into our menu moving forward. Our Seasonal Kimchi Plate is an example of this. Currently it has persimmon kimchi, beetroot and watercress kimchi, and fennel and river mint kimchi. With our vegetable scraps and trimmings we use a technique in Korea that involves enzymatic fermentation.”

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

Restaurant Shik

Nightbird on staff environment

• WHO: Kim Alter, chef/owner & Ron Boyd, manager/owner
• WHAT: An intimate tasting menu restaurant in the heart of Hayes Valley
• WHERE: 330 Gough Street, San Francisco, California 94102, USA

“In our Nightbird employee handbook we have a section on community and what it means to us at Nightbird. Who we are as a restaurant and team is the community. We are lucky to be in such a vibrant area of San Fran, with like-minded people. We strongly believe that teaching has gone to the wayside in many kitchens, and enjoy teaching staff. We are proud we have had cooks move on to get James Beard nods – we hope it says something about us and the environment we have created.”

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

Nightbird

Fogo Island Inn on community

• WHO: Jonathan Gushue, chef
• WHAT: A social business where all profits are reinvested in the community
• WHERE: 210 Main Road, Joe Batt’s Arm, Newfoundland A0G2X0, Canada

“Community is in everything we do – it’s why we are here. Fogo Island Inn’s restaurant is part of a comprehensive set of charitable initiatives and social businesses led through Shorefast, a registered charity. Shorefast has based its set of projects around art and hospitality to build another leg on the economy of Fogo Island – a place devastated by the near loss of the cod fishery. Through Shorefast, the residents of Fogo Island are the beneficial owners of the inn. By creating local employment, purchasing close to home, collaborating with the community, and basing decisions on a 100 year time horizon, the inn has become an example of business for good.”

To read more about Fogo Island Inn, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Fogo Island Inn

Sixpenny on buying local

• WHO: Dan Puskas, chef/owner, George Papaioannou manager
• WHAT: A little restaurant in Stanmore with big dreams
• WHERE: 83 Percival Road, Stanmore, New South Wales 2048, Australia

“We use seasonal and local produce everywhere we can, using trusted, small suppliers that we have built personal relationships with. All of our fish is line-caught from Australia and New Zealand. We also work with Pocket City Farms who provide classes on composting and gardening.”

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

Sixpenny

Leroy on what makes a great dish

• WHO: Ed Thaw, Jack Lewens & Sam Kamienko, chef
• WHAT: A Wine bar & bistro, sharing plates with low intervention & classic wines
• WHERE: 18 Phipp Street, London EC2A 4NU, UK

“We favour simple but thoughtful food. We're not into food that is more about technique than heart. When we get a dish right it's surprising but also satisfying. Something that makes you think but also something that you want more of. We look for wines with identity. We're not dogmatic about natural wines but if you get something well-made with less stuff in it then that makes us really happy.”

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

Leroy

Aloft on Tasmanian produce

• WHO: Christian Ryan, chef/owner
• WHAT: Intriguing modern Australian Asian restaurant on the Hobart waterfront
• WHERE: Brooke Street Pier, Level 2, Hobart, Tasmania 7000, Australia

“Part of our restaurant’s story and food ethos is to take dishes that are traditional to the different regions of Asia, then recreate them using local and unique Tasmanian ingredients. This helps in two ways – firstly, we are able to support our local farmers and suppliers by purchasing from them, which also limits our carbon footprint. For example, when the seasons are right we can substitute products like coconuts for the leaves of a fig tree. When infused into cream they have a very similar flavour and grow in abundance locally. Herbs like lemon verbena are a great replacement for lemongrass when looking for aromatics that are found close by. The second reason we use Tasmanian ingredients in replacement for harder-to-find exotic products is that it is something new and exciting for us as chefs, and also for our customers. It gives us something to experiment and play with every day and helps give us a different story and selling point within the Hobart restaurant scene.”

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

Aloft