One of the wonderful things about working in a restaurant is seeing how efficiently we use everything that comes in the door. Bones and odds and ends of vegetables get turned into stock, pieces of meat get ground up for sausages and the like, and bread gets turned into croutons and bread crumbs. However, in this day and age, just doing those little things isn’t quite enough, at least not for us. Here are a few ways we’re doing our part to be more efficient and sustainable.
The first step in being green is to try and control our inputs. We source much of our produce, seafoods, and meats from organic and/or sustainable producers. As one example, we’ve recently put steelhead trout on our menu, both because it tastes great and because it’s more sustainable than some salmon. Likewise, much of our produce comes from organic farms throughout the state of Washington and Oregon, especially this time of year.
Of course, getting in organic and local produce is great, but the most sustainable way to get food is to grow it yourself! As we have for quite some time, we’re getting some of our fruits, vegetables, and herbs from our own garden just a block away. You can read a bit more about the garden here, but with just about everything ready to pick and eat it’s a true delight.
Still, even when we get in beautiful, fresh, local, organic foods, some of it doesn’t quite get used up. Several years ago, Serafina was one of the early participants in a city-wide composting effort, spearheaded by CleanScapes. As a result, almost all of our organic waste is now composted, meaning you don’t have to feel even a shred of guilt if for some reason you can’t quite finish that last bite or two of your dinner!
Additionally, we’ve been partnered since last year with General Biodiesel. They take our leftover kitchen oil and turn it into biodiesel, saving thousands of tons of carbon emissions every year.
Before it even became a law, we’ve been using recycled and bio-degradable to-go containers as a way to limit our contributions to landfills. Even then, we only throw away what we can’t possibly compost or recycle, and thankfully that ends up being a fairly small part of our total “waste.”
So next time you come in for brunch, lunch, or dinner, take pride in the fact that you’re frequenting a restaurant that takes sustainability seriously.
