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Our Approach to Sustainability
7 Keys to Inner Peace
Total Passion Project
1. Cook what’s in season.
The number one approach in our restaurant to be more sustainable is to keep our menu seasonal. At the door entrance, the team changes the menu four times a year, one for each season, and rotates in two new dishes every six weeks to accommodate ingredients with short growing seasons, such as asparagus for example . The policy at Gem42 is Zero Waste, and the vibe is recovery. We use quality, fresh and healthy ingredients with nothing thrown away. Gem42, aims to avoid food leftovers, and if any little waste is produced is composted and recycled. “Our menu have dishes that highlight the use of the whole ingredient, whether that’s nose to tail, root to fruit or indeed tail to fin.
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2. Partner with the right producers.
Provenance is important to us, all of our ingredients are sourced locally and our suppliers are evidenced on our website, including the distance from our restaurant . One of the big thrills for us is to write checks out to our sustainable friends , not to big chain suppliers. Working with small farms is probably more work for us , requiring multiple phone calls and visits. But the payoff is huge, You don’t have to do as much with beautiful products . A little sea salt and olive oil go a long way in showcasing ingredients at their best.
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3. Start small.
One of our saying is: Don’t try to run before you walk. we have started by printing our menu on recycled paper and using linen napkins instead of paper ones. we have a dedicated area , our Lab Test Kitchen , where we research creative ways to reduce our waste and find out what it will cost us to invest in energy-efficient equipment we are definitely creating the ethos and infrastructure we need to move forward. As we have are growing as a business likewise our awareness grows, new sustainable simple things like bottled waste and cardboard waste, naturally are becoming the focus, and now sustainability is the general ethos.
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4. Grow it yourself.
Gem42, has taken local sourcing so far that a couple of years ago, we started our own kitchen garden for the restaurant. Our restaurant greenhouse allows us to take growing into our own hands, all year round. It provides a buffer against the uncertainties of sourcing local seasonal fare. It gives us more control over our menu, & gives us a consistent production of greens and vegetables that our kitchen always needs. The staff sees it as an opportunity for us to learn about how ingredients grow, carrots, cabbage, beets, broad beans, or for example English wasabi. It surely gives the chefs a new appreciation for those ingredients in their menus. They are challenged to every bit of what they grow, and most importantly, the food waste they do have can now go back into the garden as compost.
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5. Buy locally.
Gem42 sources as much possible product locally as we possibly can. Now we find that local suppliers will come to us because they know how we source our food. We also purchases peak-season produce in bulk (when it’s delicious and inexpensive) and finds creative ways to use it, such as drying, fermenting , pickling and preserving. We are also limiting the items on the menu so that we are wasting less.
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6. Think beyond the food.
For us sustainability doesn’t stop with our menu. When we created our restaurant lab -test kitchen and greenhouse, we partnered with a salvage company to source reusable material, as well as tiles and reclaimed wood for the floors. in this way we were also able to allocate some of the money we saved on materials to purchasing better-quality, energy-efficient equipment. on each water supply sink and dish tasing area we have a sign TURN OFF THE WATER WHEN NOT IN USE. and have installed motion-sensors lights in the toilets so they don’t stay on at all times. Also our wine list, now includes , many producers offering biodynamic, carbon-neutral and organic wines. this for us is also a great way to start a conversations with guests about our philosophy and what we stand for.
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7. Manage your waste.
At Gem42 we find every opportunity to reduce our waste. Food waste can be weighed, measured and go to compost so you know it’s being utilized elsewhere or in our case, it can go right back into the garden. One of our good practise in managing our waste is the recycle of glass and cardboard, and the return of packaging to our suppliers to be reused. If you look at what content goes into your bin every day and you take your bottles out, you take your food out, your paper out, you take out your coffee grinds, think if there’s anything else you can take out. You’re reducing the impact on the environment and actually saving money. Plastic Free at Gem 42, plastics damages our planet and endanger human health at every phase of their lifecycle. Gem 42 is committed to a policy of plastic-free environment.
Dear Friends and Customers,
Even if you can’t do it perfectly, whatever effort you put in, is a beautiful act of love for Mother Nature. We try not to be too hard on ourself. We try to do our best, little things that can help the environment and help people to consider their choices around food.
Zero Waste
Our Golden Rule
The policy at Gem42 is Zero Waste, and the vibe is recovery. We use quality, fresh and healthy ingredients with nothing thrown away.
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Gem42, aims to avoid food leftovers, and if any little waste is produced is composted and recycled.
Chef Sergio says: "Our menu have dishes that highlight the use of the whole ingredient—whether that’s nose to tail, root to fruit or indeed tail to fin,”
A menu full of pickled and preserved items is also a sign of a chef committed to extracting maximum value from ingredients. So is a menu with little—or no—meat and dairy.
In fact sourcing and serving more veg-led dishes will significantly reduce a restaurant’s footprint and help diners use the power of their appetite wisely.
Sourdough pasta made with leftover bread.
(See Our Lab & Test Notes)
At Gem 42 we let our leftover bread to dry in our oven when is turned off at the end of our service, this is because we prefer not to use the oven when we don’t have to. “I call this invisible waste,” Chef Sergio.
Our Sourdough pasta is nutty and very flavourful, and well worth the extra work involved in passing it through the pasta machine a few extra times.
Use the power of your appetite and choose sustainable restaurants. Gem42 is quickly gaining ground on being completely zero waste.
THE FOOD WE EAT ACCOUNTS FOR 25% OF ALL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. THAT MEANS, WHERE WE CHOOSE TO EAT OUT MATTERS.
From Waste To Worth
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Our Natural Soap is handcrafted with simplicity & sustainability in mind.
The remaining parts of ingredients, used in our cooking process will be combined with other leftovers such as our used olive oil, which is filtered and infused with aromatic herbs from our green house & amalgamated with ashes remaining from our charcoals & caustic soda. This blend will give us a fantastic Natural Soap used to wash our kitchen staff uniforms, towels etc.
"Practice makes it Perfect"
We are now planning to sell our Natural Soap to public in the nearest future.
Our Golden Rule
Let's try to do our best, those little things that can help the environment and help people to consider their choices around food.
Let’s Work Together
Get in touch so we can start working together.