Sustainable Deliciousness

Hvad dækker begrebet bæredygtighed egentlig over? Og hvordan spreder vi bedst budskabet om bæredygtig mad? De spørgsmål har kok og restauratør Matt Orlando i otte år ledt efter svaret på. I dag driver han sin restaurant Amass ud fra en filosofi om, at mad ikke blot skal produceres bæredygtigt - resultatet skal også være mere velsmagende end de konventionelle produkter, man vil have forbrugere til at vende ryggen til.

af Matt Orlando, kok og ejer af Amass Restaurant
Kronikken er på engelsk.

Where do I begin?

The word “sustainable” has become a brand name, and with this branding comes businesses looking to capitalize on the name's brand value. That makes this moment a particularly dangerous one for those of us that are really committed to living and practicing a responsible way of life, whether it be professionally or personally.

When you ask someone what the definition of sustainability is, you will get a broad spectrum of answers. For me personally, I have been asking this question to myself for the past eight years. Since opening Amass in 2013, I have gone through many phases and made many mistakes along the way to get to where we are as a restaurant today. It has taken me eight years to find my own answer and distill it into a short phrase, that when applied to any thought process can help in making responsible decisions - both for us as a restaurant and as a general rule of thumb in life:

“How can we meet the needs of the present, without compromising the needs of the future?”

Using these words when making decisions both professionally and personally, you start your journey towards a real shift in mindset. A shift that is instrumental in moving forward in a more sustainable direction.

There are a ton of businesses moving down this path. This is amazing news, and it’s what we as a planetary species need to be doing. But it’s not something that will change overnight, and there will be massive barriers and lots of critics along the way. At Amass, we look at it as a responsibility. Not only to the planet, but to every other person and business out there taking that leap in the right direction.

Matt Orlando
Kok og restauratør.
Født i 1997 i San Diego, California.

Ejer af Amass Restaurant.
Tidligere køkkenchef på bl.a. Noma.

Har på tre år reduceret restaurantens madspild med 75% og vandforbrug med 5200 liter om året.

Har etableret et "research space" i restauranten, der dagligt undersøger nye måder at bruge restprodukter på.

En del af FoodSHIFT 2030's advisory board, hvor han byder ind med indsigt og perspektiver fra restaurationsbranchen.

Bliv klogere på Amass på deres hjemmeside, eller følg dem på Instagram. Her kan du også følge Matt Orlando personligt.

“As farmers, producers, chefs and restaurateurs, our primary responsibility is to deliver products that are as good as, and preferably even better than their conventional counterparts. Quality is king here. If the product is not of high quality and priced competitively, then it shouldn’t be introduced to the market, no matter how sustainable it is.”

- Matt Orlando, kok og ejer af Amass Restaurant

Quality is still king

As a business, taking responsibility is not just about delivering a product that has been produced with the right mindset. Even more importantly, we have to make a product that’s actually good. The worst thing that a company can do when choosing to go down a more sustainable path, is to deliver a product that is subpar - or just outright terrible.

We are not trying to change the mindsets of people that are already listening to what we are saying. More than anything, we are trying to change the mindsets of people who are skeptical about the need for change and have doubts about what this all means. If you deliver them a product that is subpar or disgusting or too expensive, you achieve the opposite of what you and everyone else working with similar values are trying to achieve. Every other product that this consumer is presented with in the future, will likely be thought of in a more negative manner based on that one bad experience.

Therefore, as farmers, producers, chefs and restaurateurs, our primary responsibility is to deliver products that are as good as, and preferably even better than their conventional counterparts. Quality is king here. If the product is not of high quality and priced competitively, then it shouldn’t be introduced to the market, no matter how sustainable it is.

So if you choose to venture down this path as a business, then please be aware that it comes with a certain degree of responsibility - a responsibility to not only deliver a sustainable product, but to deliver a delicious one as well.

Let the journey begin!