Last Monday, 9th of May, chef Susana Aragón and Bárbara Atie, an expert in sustainable catering from the company «Te lo sirvo verde» (I serve it green), ran the conference «Practices for a sustainable restaurant business» at Fundesplai’s training centre (Centre de Formació Fundesplai).
The first part of the day was focused on the importance of introducing sustainable practices in restaurants. Bárbara Atie, an expert from the consultancy on sustainable catering «Te lo sirvo verde», pointed out that the current food model is one of the main problems our planet faces: it causes serious consequences, such as deforestation, loss of biodiversity, excessive generation waste and food waste.
Image: Bárbara Atie during her speech at the Centre de Formació de Fundesplai
Atie came up with all the measures that a restaurant should apply to become more environmentally friendly. She stated that, when designing a healthier and more sustainable menu, it is necessary to consider several elements, such as supporting local foods; encouraging the consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes and nuts; and reducing the consumption of animal protein. Furthermore, the expert advised the use of reusable products to the detriment of the use of disposable products, so the polluting impact of restaurants is reduced.
Image: chef Susana Aragón chose artichokes from El Prat during her live cooking session.
The owner and chef of the CèNTRIC Gastro restaurant, Susana Aragón, ended the event sharing ideas for re-use cooking. In this cooking session, the main ingredient she used was the artichoke from El Prat («la carxofa del Prat»), a local star product that comes straight from the Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat (the agrarian park in Baix Llobregat). Aragón reflected on the multiple properties of the artichoke. Often, we only use its heart, but it is possible to cook many other dishes using its stalks or its leaves, such as stuffing for croquettes or gyoza, or to prepare some broth to cook rice.
The chef also explained the philosophy of the CèNTRIC Gastro restaurant. It is based on producing a menu whose dishes focus on local and seasonal products, such as artichokes, blue-legged chicken from El Prat de Llobregat («pollastre pota blava»), or asparagus from Gavà. It is also based on the promotion of circular economy and the commitment to meet the Sustainable Development Goals – Agenda 2030.
Find the whole conference here:
• Video in original version.
• Video with simultaneous interpretation into Catalan.
• Video with simultaneous interpretation into English.