We’re #43 and the winner of the Sustainable Restaurant Award at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024!

13. Jul 2024

Coming in 43 at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants a few weeks ago was amazing, but do you know what was even better? The fact that we are this year’s winner of the Sustainable Restaurant Award. 

You better believe that we’ve toasted to that a fair few times. After all, advocating for sustainability as well as a paradigm shift in our industry (and consumer culture in general) aren’t secondary issues for us – no, they are absolutely at the heart of what we do. Under the banner of a “values-centric gastronomy”, we strive to do business in a way that is responsible towards people, animals, and our environment. When we say people, we’re not just talking about paying guests either. Rather, this is about the people who have long got the short end of the stick in our line of work. The ones who keep things up and running every day – our fantastic, incredibly dedicated kitchen and service staff.  

Either way, we are so very proud to be honoured as the first German restaurant in this category, nevermind the fact that the awards ceremony took place in that mecca of wastefulness that is Las Vegas. It was also much more gratifying than receiving the green star from the Guide Michelin a few years back. In the absence of transparent standards or rigorous assessment, we thought this a worthless label and promptly tried to return it back to sender. (Not that the Guide Michelin seemed to care particularly – it still appears next to our name on their website.) 

The Sustainable Restaurant Award is a different matter entirely. Just throwing your name into the hat requires that you undergo a thorough auditing process. And that’s exactly what we did this year. Our business was assessed according to the Food Made Good standard, which is a 360 degree tool looking at sustainability across three main pillars: society, sourcing, and environment. Not only did we have to fill out endless questionnaires, we were also asked to provide tangible evidence: starting with our electricity bills, our Guide of Conduct, delivery bills, and so on. And no proof meant no points. 

Our final result was a wonderful 84 points, placing us in the highest possible sustainability category of three stars. (For context: most restaurants don’t even achieve a one star rating on their first audit.) In their respective announcements, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and the Sustainable Restaurant Association praise our holistic approach to sustainability. In particular, they highlight our efforts in creating a fair and inclusive workplace, for example through our Guide of Conduct. This led to us being awarded 97 points in the “Treat Staff Fairly” category – not least because we’ve certifiably put our money where our mouths are.

Another category in which we performed particularly well is “sourcing”, with Food Made Good lauding our close and respectful relationships with our producers as well as transparency around the produce we procure from the area around Berlin. This was equally amazing but also no real surprise. After all, we’ve been spreading the “vocally local” gospel for very nearly 10 years – it doesn’t just taste best, but is also by far the most sustainable food choice. (Not just for restaurants either.) 

But be that as it may: sustainability is a process, not a result. Our Food Made Good report has provided us with many suggestions on how we can continue to improve. Well, it looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us. Wanting to be pioneers of a new, values-centric gastronomy and consumer culture isn’t easy, it requires us to go several extra miles, and it certainly doesn’t come cheap. But you know what? It’s simply the right thing to do, and that’s why we are all the more delighted to find that our efforts are seen. Beyond that, we’re hoping that we’ll act as inspiration to other companies, large or small. An award like this is nice for us personally, sure, but real sustainable change doesn’t come down to one business – it’s something we can only achieve together.

 

We’re #43 and the winner of the Sustainable Restaurant Award at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024!

13. Jul 2024

Coming in 43 at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants a few weeks ago was amazing, but do you know what was even better? The fact that we are this year’s winner of the Sustainable Restaurant Award. 

You better believe that we’ve toasted to that a fair few times. After all, advocating for sustainability as well as a paradigm shift in our industry (and consumer culture in general) aren’t secondary issues for us – no, they are absolutely at the heart of what we do. Under the banner of a “values-centric gastronomy”, we strive to do business in a way that is responsible towards people, animals, and our environment. When we say people, we’re not just talking about paying guests either. Rather, this is about the people who have long got the short end of the stick in our line of work. The ones who keep things up and running every day – our fantastic, incredibly dedicated kitchen and service staff.  

Either way, we are so very proud to be honoured as the first German restaurant in this category, nevermind the fact that the awards ceremony took place in that mecca of wastefulness that is Las Vegas. It was also much more gratifying than receiving the green star from the Guide Michelin a few years back. In the absence of transparent standards or rigorous assessment, we thought this a worthless label and promptly tried to return it back to sender. (Not that the Guide Michelin seemed to care particularly – it still appears next to our name on their website.) 

The Sustainable Restaurant Award is a different matter entirely. Just throwing your name into the hat requires that you undergo a thorough auditing process. And that’s exactly what we did this year. Our business was assessed according to the Food Made Good standard, which is a 360 degree tool looking at sustainability across three main pillars: society, sourcing, and environment. Not only did we have to fill out endless questionnaires, we were also asked to provide tangible evidence: starting with our electricity bills, our Guide of Conduct, delivery bills, and so on. And no proof meant no points. 

Our final result was a wonderful 84 points, placing us in the highest possible sustainability category of three stars. (For context: most restaurants don’t even achieve a one star rating on their first audit.) In their respective announcements, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and the Sustainable Restaurant Association praise our holistic approach to sustainability. In particular, they highlight our efforts in creating a fair and inclusive workplace, for example through our Guide of Conduct. This led to us being awarded 97 points in the “Treat Staff Fairly” category – not least because we’ve certifiably put our money where our mouths are.

Another category in which we performed particularly well is “sourcing”, with Food Made Good lauding our close and respectful relationships with our producers as well as transparency around the produce we procure from the area around Berlin. This was equally amazing but also no real surprise. After all, we’ve been spreading the “vocally local” gospel for very nearly 10 years – it doesn’t just taste best, but is also by far the most sustainable food choice. (Not just for restaurants either.) 

But be that as it may: sustainability is a process, not a result. Our Food Made Good report has provided us with many suggestions on how we can continue to improve. Well, it looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us. Wanting to be pioneers of a new, values-centric gastronomy and consumer culture isn’t easy, it requires us to go several extra miles, and it certainly doesn’t come cheap. But you know what? It’s simply the right thing to do, and that’s why we are all the more delighted to find that our efforts are seen. Beyond that, we’re hoping that we’ll act as inspiration to other companies, large or small. An award like this is nice for us personally, sure, but real sustainable change doesn’t come down to one business – it’s something we can only achieve together.