Supply problems cause closure of Bistrorganic

Chef Antony Worrall Thompson has closed his London organic restaurant just weeks after its opening because he claims his suppliers have too much of a "hippy mentality".

Worrall Thompson had hoped that Bistrorganic, a 65-seat restaurant in North Kensington formerly known as Woz, could become accredited by the Soil Association as being 100% organic.

But he has now sold the restaurant because of problems getting supplies. "Organic suppliers are just not geared up for restaurants," he said. "They have a hippy mentality. It's like, ‘Shall we supply today, or not?'"

Bistrorganic is to relocate to Whitchurch in Oxfordshire, pending planning consent on a site originally intended for a second organic restaurant. It is close to a large organic farm.

"A lot of restaurants are just jumping on the bandwagon, but I want to be certified with the Soil Association. I want farmers to work to the menu I want rather than the other way around," Worrall Thompson said.

Emma Parkin, spokeswoman for the Soil Association, saidchefs in cities might encounter difficulties in consistent supply but they needed to be moreflexible. "There aren't many organic growers in the UK, fewer than 2,000. It is difficult for restaurants in London to be 100% organic, but not impossible."

Nick Herbert, director of London's only restaurant with Soil Association accreditation, the Organic Café in Kilburn, said supply was not the issue. "You have to play around with what's available, that's the fun of it. But I suspect the problem [with Bistrorganic] is it may not be willing to give up the margins that a conventional restaurant can achieve," he said.

The Organic Café, he added, has to pay about 40% more for ingredients than a non-organic restaurant does. It also pays a full-time employee to source ingredients and check that they are 100% organic.

by Christina Golding