Members of the Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery Collective tell us about their special initiatives and ideas.

Fork shares their waste-reduction strategies

• WHO: Ellen Yin & Eli Kulp, owners; John Patterson, chef
• WHAT: A contemporary American restaurant in Old City, Philadelphia

• WHERE: 306 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106, USA

“One of our purchasing guidelines is to avoid products that come with unnecessary packaging. For example, our effort purchasing almost entirely local mushrooms from Kennett Square is not only about locality and flavour, but also a conscious effort to avoid wasteful packaging that comes with imported mushrooms. Additionally, we try to focus not only on specialty purchases but bulk purchases – we buy exclusively organic bulk sugar and use sunflower/non-GMO frying oil in our fryers.”

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

Wickens at Royal Mail Hotel on growing their own produce

• WHO: Robin Wickens, executive chef
• WHAT: Destination regional fine dining with sweeping Grampians views

• WHERE: 98 Parker Street, Dunkeld, Victoria 3294, Australia

“Our chefs are in the garden every day picking the produce they need and watching the life cycle of the garden. The produce is grown organically without the use of fertilizers or chemicals. This method of farming means our produce is flavourful and just how nature intended it to be. It does, however, leave us open to the elements, meaning uniform shapes and sizes cannot always be achieved – an aspect of our story we are very proud of.”

To read more about Wickens at Royal Mail Hotel visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Wickens at the Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld, Australia

Sherwood on sustainable hospitality

• WHO: Sam Chapman, owner & Kane Bambery, chef
• WHAT: A community hotel, restaurant, bar, wellbeing, co-working, film production, garden & event space

• WHERE: 554 Frankton Rd, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand

“Sustainability underpins everything we do at Sherwood. We are one of the only hotels in the Southern Hemisphere powered by the sun (our solar array was the largest private installation in New Zealand at the time). The entire complex is an 1980's up-cycled motor inn, and both the rooms and the restaurant were refurbished using recycled, up-cycled and sustainable materials including cork wall linings, metal furnishings, carpets made from recycled fishing nets, lino from car tyres, and curtains from army blankets. We have set ourselves the goal of being zero-waste, with our 160-seat restaurant and bar now down to only half a wheelie bin of general waste per week.”

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

Sherwood, Queenstown, New Zealand

Field & Main on community spirit

• WHO: Neal & Star Wavra, owners
• WHAT: Farm-to-table dining over an open flame
• WHERE: 8369 W. Main Street, Marshall, Virginia 20115, USA

“Community is central to our mission, from building and supporting a community of team members that create the culture of our restaurant, to a network of farmers and artisans that not only supply our restaurant, but also eat in it. We also seek to enrich our dining community through our club, Hestia Guild. This club offers patrons an opportunity to learn more about our food and drink through educational experiences and meeting other like-minded diners, helping to support our local food bank in the process. We donate $1 to the food bank for every order of the evening’s designated dish.”

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

Field & Main, Marshall, Virgina, USA

Sardine Eatery & Bar on choosing local

• WHO: Mark Briggs, chef/co-owner
• WHAT: A local seafood restaurant with East Gippsland at its heart

• WHERE: 3/69 Esplanade, Paynesville, Victoria 3880, Australia

“Fresh produce is the essence of our menu. We work closely with local producers to celebrate their produce. We are lucky to have some of the finest vegetables in Lindenow and the happiest chickens we have ever met, just down the road at Forge Creek Free Range. Telling the story of where our produce comes from is an important factor in the dining experience of our restaurant.”

To read more about Sardine Eatery & Bar visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Sardine Eatery & Bar, Paynesville, Australia

O Navegador shares a special story

• WHO: Teresa Corção, chef/owner
• WHAT: Brazilian regional sustainable cuisine restaurant located at a 1908 building in downtown Rio

• WHERE: Av Rio Branco 180, 6th floor, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“One night I was feeling exhausted about the crisis Rio is passing through. I was checking the numbers with my manager when I saw that there was a couple still sitting at one of the tables, the last guests. The woman, an elderly woman, stood up and came towards me. I was worried she was going to complain about something, but instead she looked at me deeply, excused the interruption and said: ‘I came to thank you! I don't know what you have in this restaurant, in this food. I just came out of a long stay at the hospital and my son decided to take me here. I can only say there is a lot of love in this place.’ We both hugged and cried – it was an unbelievable scene!”

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

O Navegador, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Dalleth on seasonal dining

• WHO: Jonathan Dowling, owner
• WHAT: A ticketed event business offering intimate tasting experiences that utilize wild British produce
• WHERE: 115 Glencoe Road, Kent ME4 5QF, UK

“Dalleth menus are strictly seasonal, which can be quite a challenge, especially at the end of winter and beginning of spring. We are particularly strict on where we source our ingredients, with very few coming from outside of the UK and Ireland. The idea of buying ingredients from overseas when we have an abundance on home soil contradicts our philosophy – we actively encourage and promote British produce in all of our dishes. Our menus encompass a large amount of foraged vegetation, wild meats and fish, just like our ancestor hunter-gatherers would have.”

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

Dalleth, Kent, UK