Stonehaven chippy awarded SRA's Three Stars
The Bay Fish and Chips in Stonehaven has been rated as one of the top five most sustainable restaurants in the UK after being awarded a Three Star rating by Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).
Proving that sustainability is not the preserve of expensive, fine dining restaurants, the takeaway was given an overall score of 82%, putting it among the five highest rated restaurants in the UK, along with two River Cottage establishments, Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons and Ode, in Devon.
Owner Calum Richardson said: “It’s brilliant to get the reward for all the hard work my team have put in, making sure we source the best produce for our customers, manage energy and waste the best we can and play our part in the local community. It has opened our eyes to the wider picture of our business and customers have responded really well to what we’re doing. Using local suppliers helps us keep down costs and keep money in the local area.”
The Bay was rated just three months ago by SRA and awarded a very credible Two Stars with a score of 62%. But Calum was determined to make the necessary improvements to earn an extra star ensuring that food waste, waste oil, cardboard, glass and paper are all recycled and composted. The team is also making an effort to ensure that all packaging is recyclable or reused.
The Bay is working even more closely with its suppliers and uses organic, local vegetables and has switched to using 100% renewable electricity.
Mark Linehan, managing director of the SRA, said: “This is a fantastic achievement by The Bay. They have shown that any restaurant can be sustainable and successful if the commitment is there. It’s a terrific endorsement of our mission to work with restaurants of all types to help make UK restaurants global leaders in sustainability. The experience of The Bay also demonstrates that by making sustainable changes a restaurant can also save money. ”
The SRA assessed The Bay across 14 key areas of sustainability, through 70 questions covering everything from the sourcing of their produce to how they manage their waste and energy, as well as how they treat their staff and engage with the local community. In particular The Bay excelled in fish sourcing, scoring 100% in that section.
The SRA is a national not-for-profit membership organisation, providing restaurants with ongoing advice and support to help them become more sustainable.
Photo courtesy of Seafish
