Two Thame pubs, The Thatch and The James Figg have been officially recognised for their actions to reduce their impact on climate change and help people to make more sustainable choices when eating out by being awarded a Three Star Food Made Good rating by the Sustainable Restaurant Association.
The pubs and their owners Peach Pubs were given the accolade for the steps they have taken to be better businesses and make a difference to people and the planet. To achieve it, they worked with the Sustainable Restaurant Association to complete a detailed assessment of the sustainability of the businesses looking at 10 key areas. These ranged from celebrating local and seasonal and sourcing fish responsibly to treating their people fairly and eliminating food waste.
When combined to provide an overall performance across three key pillars - Sourcing, Society and Environment - Peach and the pubs were given a total Food Made Good Rating of 73%, earning them a Three Star status.
This means that the pubs have been able to show that they are good restaurants with a score of 72% on Sourcing, 74% on Society and 72% on Environment, adding up to a consistently good performance on all three key pillars.
The pubs' focus on putting local and seasonal produce on their menus was highlighted by a score of 80%, while the way they look after the people who cook in their kitchens and run their bars and restaurants achieved 76%. Their efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle were recognised with a 76% score and the chefs' hard work in eliminating food waste was rewarded with 72%.
Finally, everything the pubs do to support the community, especially during lockdown when they kept their teams busy doing voluntary work, cooking takeaways for local residents as well as preparing and delivering free meals to frontline NHS workers, was singled out with an impressive 84%.
"It's fantastic news to be given a Three Star Food Made Good rating by the Sustainable Restaurant Association, and doubly significant after what has been a year like no other for the hospitality industry," says Frazer Sutherland, Peach Partner, who looks after the pubs.
"We are hugely proud that what we have been doing to be a better business and put the planet first have been recognised in this way. It is tremendous encouragement from the Sustainable Restaurant Association and we shall be working with them over the year ahead to be even better and improve our scores in areas we need to. In the meantime, we shall be celebrating this excellent news with our team and with our guests" he says.
Juliane Caillouette-Noble, Managing Director of the SRA, said, “By being the first pub business to complete the Food Made Good sustainability rating after the pandemic and additionally achieving Three Stars, Peach truly is demonstrating to its customers, staff and industry colleagues that it is 100% committed to serving up a better food future.”
The Thatch is at 29-30 Lower High Street, Thame, Oxon, OX9 2AA. Tel: 01844 214340 https://www.thethatchthame.co.uk/.
The James Figg is at 21 Cornmarket, Thame, Oxon, OX9 2BL. Tel: 01844 260 166 www.thejamesfiggthame.co.uk
