Poco named sustainable restaurant of the year
Tapas restaurant Poco has been named the most sustainable in the country for its commitment to sourcing and serving ethical produce.
It received the Restaurant of the Year accolade at the Sustainable Restaurant Association's Food Made Good awards, and also picked up the Independent Restaurant of the Year gong, at a ceremony presided over by SRA president Raymond Blanc at the Royal Horticultural Society's Lindley Hall in London.
Poco is committed to using local ingredients, with lemons the only imported produce it uses.
Chef Tom Hunt has a "root to fruit philosophy", with dishes including beetroot hummus paired with crispy fried beet leaves, and trout smoked in-house with shavings from the English Oak that made the tables.
Hunt said: "Sustainability is at the heart of all Poco's values. We are therefore ecstatic to receive recognition for something we believe is so important. Since we opened our first Poco five years ago the environmental consciousness of restaurants has increased dramatically. We are so proud to be amongst the best and most sustainable restaurants in the UK."
Meanwhile, Bartlett Mitchell was named Caterer of the Year, Wahaca was named Large Group of the Year and Lussmanns Fish & Grill received the People's Favourite Award having topped a public poll.
Founder Andrei Lussmann (below) said: "We are humbled to receive such an endorsement. It's a seal of approval and a demand for ‘more of the same please' that will spur us on to continue providing a sustainable option on the high street."
The Food Made Good Award Winners
Food Made Good Independent Restaurant of the Year Poco, Broadway Market, London
Food Made Good Small Group of the Year Daylesford, Gloucestershire and London
Food Made Good Large Group of the Year Wahaca
Food Made Good Award for Environment Arbor at The Green House Hotel, Bournemouth
Food Made Good Award for Society Artizian Catering Services
Food Made Good Award for Sourcing River Cottage HQ, Devon
Sustainable Innovation Award bio-bean
English Food Made Good Champion 2016 Poco, Broadway Market, London
Scottish Food Made Good Champion 2016 The Captain's Galley, Scrabster
Welsh Food Made Good Champion 2016 The Gallery, Barry
Irish Food Made Good Champion 2016 KSG at University College Cork
Food Made Good Restaurant of the Year 2016 Poco, Broadway Market
Food Made Good Caterer of the Year Bartlett Mitchell
Best Food Waste Strategy FoodInResidence, The University of Manchester
Most Improved Sustainability The Roebuck, London
International Food Made Good Champion 2016 Relæ, Denmark