The green catering sector is growing rapidly. According to the Sustainable Restaurant Association, 1/3 of all catering businesses in Germany promote themselves as sustainable. In the United States, over half of all food service operations list sustainability as a top priority when it comes to purchasing and kitchen operations. That’s why we see the value in sharing our Berlin Modern Cooking’s guide to eco-friendly catering. It has been updated for 2022! So, you’ll also reveal 5 tips from experts on in-house and off premise catering atop. You should read the post about sustainability initiatives, if you wish to get advice on choosing organic food and discover how you can start offering a sustainable catering service today.
Why Sustainable Catering is Good for your Company
The green cleaning market in Germany is currently still small, but it has a good potential for growth. Because of their involvement with high-profile events, professional caterers are in a particularly good position to lead the way and make sustainable catering a reality. Sustainable catering has many advantages for both companies and customers, making it beneficial for everybody involved. The public is becoming increasingly aware of climate change and wants to do something about it. Businesses can contribute to this by offering sustainable products and services in their field of activity. Ultimately, being humane, environmentally-friendly also helps improve your business image.
Ecologically Conscious Catering: The Main Idea
There are many kinds of catering services. Some of them focus on the quality of food, others on decor and aesthetics. Sustainable catering means that each aspect of the service is as environmentally friendly as possible; from the food, to the establishment itself. The chefs are constantly encouraged to look for a second life for food and food waste. This is yet another area where we can make an impact on our planet, and by focusing on such a small niche it can actually have a large amount of effect.
5 Tips from Berlin Modern Cooking Chefs
- If you are looking for new, eco-friendly habits that can make a difference with your catering, start with cooking seasonal; by doing so, you save money and eat less imported foods. Since these products have a greater energy footprint compared to the fresh produce that’s grown locally and sold at farmers’ markets.
- One of the most important ways to reduce food waste is to be organized. Create a shopping list and stick to it. Pre-measure ingredients for recipes (such as baked goods) before you go grocery shopping. This will prevent overbuying, which also helps to save you money! Being aware of your food waste is one of the most important steps. The next goal is to reduce it. Join hands with event planners, hotels and restaurants to start your own sustainable catering practice.
- It’s good to help the environment, but it’s also important to do our part to help the community. The way we see it, if by getting our clients to have one meatless meal a week we can save thousands of animals every year, that’s a win-win in our eyes. For a sustainable catering business, I would highly recommend that you eliminate meat entirely and turn to plant based meat! While meat may be the most expensive component of your catering service, it’s also the most unsustainable. By selling less meat, you’ll be able to feed more customers with less resources used. You’ll also cut back on the amount of garbage produced. You stand to gain lower food costs, higher profits and greater sustainability.
- Every year, billions of tons of garbage gets dumped in our oceans , the biggest source being trash that ends up in waterways and eventually out at sea. If you’re having a party, you might want to rethink how you dispose of your guests’ leftovers. Better yet, find some recyclable food containers.
- Using bottled water creates an immense amount of waste because you’re simply throwing away the bottle when you’re done drinking it. By using a metal flask filled with water and a reusable straw, there is much less waste! Whether you are a small business owner or an event planner that has a caterer on staff, eliminating single-use plastic bottles can be an enormous benefit for your business. By introducing reusable glass bottles and reusable packaging options into the catering environment, it is possible to significantly cut down on the amount of single-use plastic bottles that end up in landfills.
Conclusion
Sustainable catering is about social responsibility. It has developed into a trend in the food industry, and it is here to stay. Many people are more concerned about what they eat, where it comes from, how it’s grown, and how it’s prepared. They are also becoming more aware of the importance of environmental sustainability in every step of living. Catering companies that provide this kind of service can have loyal customers who will return year after year. Sustainable catering is just as it sounds – taking all measures to make your event a green one.
