Guelph develops sustainable restaurant practices
“In order to reduces waste, you have to know what’s contributing to it.”
PJ’s restaurant is already a unique feature at the University of Guelph, but it’s about to get a whole lot greener. The student–run restaurant is going sustainable as one of the many initiatives that fall under the University of Guelph Sustainable Restaurant Project (UGSRP). PJ’s is part of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM), and provides an opportunity for students to gain hands on experience in what they’ve learned in their program.
Bruce McAdams, a professor within the HTM program, had the initial vision for the sustainable restaurant project. He received a $15,000 grant from the university’s Learning Enhancement Fund to make sustainability part of the course curriculum. PJ’s restaurant is the perfect opportunity to experiment because the financial risks that make “real world” restaurant owners hesitant to implement changes aren’t there. Mike Von Massow, an assistant professor with the HTM program, worked with McAdams to hold a panel discussion on Oct. 26 where leading figures from the sector met to discuss different aspects of restaurant sustainability.
“A lot of restaurants are small businesses,” said Von Massow. “And sometimes you can’t take risks, and sometimes you’re just too busy to know what your opportunities are and so we have an opportunity to say, here are some things to think about.”
Attention is being given to all areas of the restaurant, from food sourcing to food preparation. There is, of course, a focus on local and sustainable produce. For example, the fish that PJ’s uses are not only being fished sustainably, but also are “nuisance fish”. Taking them out of the eco system helps counter their potential threat as an invasive species. However, PJ’s is also looking at the fundamental use of resources within the restaurant business: energy use and water audits are monitored to make the preparation of food more sustainable.
“We see this as an opportunity to say, ‘well what can we learn from other people? What can other people learn from us? How can we help both the students that we’re training and the industry to think about this’,” said Von Massow. “The reality is, it’s important, people care about it, and in many cases, it can save them money.”
The restaurant is also hosting other research projects for sustainable restaurant practices. One of the projects run by Von Massow looks at one of the final stages of food production – plate waste.
“Some of [the research projects] aren’t highly glamorous,” said Von Massow. “What doesn’t get finished on a plate gets thrown out…On average, research says that plate waste is about 10 per cent, about 10 per cent of food that goes out comes back and gets scraped.”
The project weighs each plate before and after they are served to figure out which items are being sent back. The project helps estimate which menus items are contributing to waste based on daily sales. Managers don’t need to change everything, but helps them understand what elements of a meal people aren’t enjoying.
“In order to reduce waste, you have to know what’s contributing to it.”
It goes to show that for sustainability, what seems like a small step can make a big difference.
Loading ...
