When it comes to sustainability, it's not always about the sourcing, which is why the Sustainable Restaurant Association's Food Made Good Awards celebrate everything from the restaurants reducing food waste to the people doing the most to create positive change in the industry.
At this year's awards, a total of four London restaurants and one street food stall came out on top. The capital's hottest breakfast and weekend brunch spot The Breakfast Club picked up the Support Global Farmers award for its sourcing policy on avocados, which ensures farmers in Latin America get a fair deal for their produce. Quaker House's Friends restaurant on Euston Road won the Support the Community for its social enterprise bakery, which employs men with personality disorders. Borough Market street food stall Gourmet Goat was recognised for its resourceful use of kid goat and rose veal that would otherwise go to waste with the Food Made Good's Waste No Food award.
Elsewhere, Richmond-based garden shop and café Petersham Nurseries triumphed in the Serve More Veg and Better Meat category thanks to executive chef Damian Clisby's outstanding commitment to sourcing, serving and campaigning for quality meat and for championing of vegetables on the daily-changing menu, while The Thames-side OXO Tower Restaurant Brasserie and Bar also took home the Food Made Good Champion award for its involvement in the SRA's monthly campaigns to make food good over the last year.
But that's not all, hospitality businesses, chefs and suppliers are doing good with food all over the country. So, without further adieu, here's the full round-up of this year's winners...
Support Global Farmers
For the business going above and beyond in ethical sourcing
Winner: The Breakfast Club
Runners-up: Bartlett Mitchell and Plymouth University
Sponsored by Pukka Herbs
Value Natural Resources
For the business innovating to better preserve energy and water
Winner: Sheffield Hallam University
Runners-up: Les Orangeries, Lussac Les Chateaux and Pizza Hut Restaurants
Sponsored by Belu
Treat Staff Fairly
For the business doing most to value staff through pay and beyond the paycheque
Winner: Pizza Hut Restaurants
Runners-up: Sheffield Hallam University and The Breakfast Club's (ten sites in London and Brighton)
Sponsored by Freedom Brewery
Feed People Well
For the business doing the most to support adults and kids make good choices when eating out
Winner: Jamie's Italian
Runners-up: Artizian Catering Services and Cardiff Metropolitan University
Sponsored by Organix
Celebrate Local
For the business making the very most of the larder on its doorstep
Winner: The Gallivant (Camber)
Runners-up: Bangkok Canteen (Gloucester), Food in Residence and University of Manchester
Sponsored by Fresh Range
Source Fish Responsibly
For the business doing most to help ensure plenty more fish in the sea
Winner: Kingfisher Fish & Chips (Plymouth)
Runners-up: London School of Economics and The Bay Fish & Chips (Stonehaven)
Sponsored by Direct Seafoods
Serve More Veg and Better Meat
Rewarding the most innovative ways of flipping the menu
Winner: Petersham Nurseries
Runners-up: Lussmanns Fish & Grill and Poco (Bristol)
Sponsored by Select Butchery
Reduce Reuse Recycle
For the most impactful way of keeping as much as possible out of landfill
Winner: Thali Café (Bristol and Oxford)
Runners-up: Costa Coffee, Relae, Copenhagen
Sponsored by Paper Round
Waste No Food
Rewarding the very best ways of ensuring food stays out of the bin
Winner: Gourmet Goat, London
Runners-up: Pizza Hut Restaurants and Poco (Bristol)
Sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions
Support The Community
For the business making food do good as well as taste good in its area
Winner: Friends House Restaurant, London
Runners-up: Friska (Bristol, Luton and Manchester) and The Wheatsheaf (Chilton Foliat)
Sponsored by PKL
People's Favourite Restaurant
Publicly-voted award run in partnership with delicious. magazine
Winner: Lucky Beach Café, Brighton
Runners-up: Harissa (Newcastle), Petersham Nurseries (London) and The Gate (three sites in London)
Food Made Good Supplier of the Year
Winner: Vegware
Runners-up: Select Butchery and Yealands Estate Wines
Sponsored by Propercorn
Food Made Good Champion 2017
The business doing the most to promote positive change via the Food Made Good online community
Winner: OXO Tower Restaurant Bar & Brasserie (London)
Runners-up: Bangkok Canteen (Gloucester), Plymouth University and Yurt Lush (Bristol)
Sponsored by Eureka Search & Selection
Good to Go Award
For the restaurant doing most to prove that you don't have to remove principles when taking food away
Winner: Chris's Fish & Chips (Barwell, Leicestershire)
Runners-up: Captain Café (Cradley Heath and Birmingham), Green Tomato Café (Brighton) and The Captain's Table (Glengormley, Northern Ireland)
Sponsored by Just Eat
Open Right Award
Celebrating a site opened in last 12 months with sustainability built-in
Winner: Nando's Cambridge Retail Park
Sponsored by Shaftesbury plc
Raymond Blanc Sustainability Hero
For individual(s) doing the most to create positive change across the sector
Winner: Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent
Food Made Good Business of the Year
The best in the business, excelling across the board in the Food Made Good Sustainability Rating
Winner: Baest and Mirabelle
Want to keep up with all the new talent in the bars, kitchens and restaurants of London? Check out the winners of the Young British Foodies Awards 2017, too.
