What makes you choose one restaurant over another? The price of the menu? The menu? The type of cuisine? Its proximity to your place of residence? The decoration of the place?
For many French people, the respect of certain environmental constraints would be more and more determining in their choice. 76% of French people think that responsible consumption is a way to get involved in sustainable development but according to the IFOP not even 1 French person out of 10 thinks that the restaurant sector is a sector that is committed to sustainable development. However, it is interesting to note that sustainable catering is something that is very trendy but above all that it is not something that has been around for a long time. But what is it exactly?

I - Awareness of the need to transform the sector

In recent years, there has been the emergence of associations or labels that are fighting for the transformation of the sector and a growing awareness among chefs about their environmental impact.

• the Sustainable Restaurant Association in the UK, helps restaurants to adopt eco-responsible actions and guides customers towards brands that adopt sustainable behaviour.
  
• Slow Food International "works for a world in which all people have access to and can enjoy food that is good for them, for those who produce it and for the planet."
  
• The ecotable label: launched at the beginning of 2019, this label makes it possible, following the same principle as that of the Michelin guide, to give ratings to establishments. The criterion here is eco-responsibility. One, two or three ecotables are to be won depending on the degree of commitment to sustainable development.
  
• "Restaurant Engagé Anti-Gaspi", launched by the Framheim association, is the first label recognizing the efforts of French restaurant owners in the fight against food waste.
  

II - Sourcing your products

Being an eco-responsible chef means first of all choosing the products you put on your menu.

A card that's too big should put a bullet in your ear. In general, it is estimated that if more than 5 dishes are proposed, it means that some of them are not homemade.

A chef who is concerned about the environment and its preservation will have at heart to offer seasonal products, grown according to a method of agriculture that respects the environment and is local. Indeed, the shorter the supply chain, the more sustainable it is.

This is also true for its wine list, there are wines from organic farming or produced by independent winemakers. Don't wait any longer to put them on your tables, nuggets are often there!

III - Fighting waste

Even before fighting against food waste, a sustainable restaurant is one that will limit the use of natural resources such as water, energy but also its carbon emissions.

Other types of waste can and should be limited: waste for example. Plastics and packaging are a real scourge in the food industry.

Finally, food waste, a real scourge in the restaurant sector when we know that 58% of food waste comes from food professionals. There are nevertheless solutions to limit waste, discover them in the following article: 6 tips to fight against food waste