Most sustainable restaurants in Japan with FOOD MADE GOOD (Part 2)

Food is an essential part of our life when we consider the sustainability of our society. In this series of articles, we introduce the sustainable practices of Japanese restaurants who are the members of Sustainable Restaurant Association Japan (SRA-J) and have obtained the highest sustainability grade in the “FOOD MADE GOOD” program. (First part here)

BOTTEGA BLU. is an Italian restaurant selected for the Grand Award and Circular Economy Award in the FOOD MADE GOOD Japan Awards 2022 (the latest awards), located in Ashiya City (Hyogo Prefecture), the west part of Japan. The significant practices of this innovative restaurant seem to be divided into three components.

First, they reduce the food waste very effectively, by utilizing the parts of ingredients which are usually discarded (for example, fish bones and vegetable scraps) to make their dishes more delicious. Second, they put a significant value on locally-produced food and bring out the original flavor of ingredients without using additives. Third, they promote sustainable practices not only in their own restaurant, but also in the food industry itself, including their suppliers and other restaurants.

In the interview of the Awards 2022, the chef-owner Oshima Takeshi talked about their practice toward decent work in addition to the above-mentioned practices, and answered about advice for other restaurants (his comment is below).

“You should just do what you can. I think it would be nice if you could work on what you can do. I think that’s what contributed to me winning. Do what you can, without over-thinking. We should do what we can do together.”

You can watch the full version of chef Oshima’s interview below (English subtitle is available):

The sustainable style of BOTTEGA BLU. has spread to another leading restaurant in Japan, TRATTORIA QENARU, and their menu is supervised by the same chef, Oshima Takeshi as BOTTEGA BLU.. This community-based restaurant is located in Maniwa City (Okayama Prefecture), which is a place designated as the SDGs Future City, and offers Italian dishes utilizing fresh local food from the magnificent neighboring nature, Hiruzen Kogen (Plateau).

Taking over the sustainable style of chef Oshima, the concept of sustainability is incorporated into their dishes, including animal welfare of livestock. Plus, their practices are not limited to the aspect of food. They utilize discarded organic materials for their uniform and the sustainable wood is used for their interior.

Last but not least, their practices related to “foodtech” are also significantly unique. This restaurant is trying to improve their work environment and achieve decent work by introducing robot and computer technologies.

Including those we looked in Part 1, these leading restaurants in Japan are trying to contribute to sustainability in unique and various ways. However, when it comes to “food,” it seems that there is a common attitude to “cherishing local food” among them.

I think it is the time to change our perspective on local food production and circularity, just like these sustainable restaurants. This is because “Food” is not only what we enjoy but also what we need, and food self-sufficiency rate is severely low in Japan, which can result in the future shortage of food. Therefore, focusing on local food production could contribute to both society’s food security and sustainable development, reducing the environmental footprint from transportation and over-production.

We look at more sustainable restaurants next week in our final part in this series!

• Japan’s sustainable restaurants series

  • Most sustainable restaurants in Japan (Part 1) – Restaurant817 & PIZZERIA GTALIA DA FILIPPO
  • Most sustainable restaurants in Japan (Part 2) – BOTTEGA BLU. & TRATTORIA QENARU
  • Most sustainable restaurants in Japan (Part 3) – Kayanoya Restaurant & SELVAGGIO