Food sustainability

Our partners Restaurant Associates have the highest Food Made Good accreditation by the Sustainable Restaurant Association, which covers sourcing, society and environment. They are also committed to Net Zero by 2030.

Our plant-forward menus have a 70/30 ratio of plants to meat. Plant-forward is a style of cooking and eating that emphasises plant-based foods but is not strictly limited to them. Meat consumption has many detrimental effects on the environment so we are focussing on our contribution to that, whilst not eliminating it completely.

We have recently introduced a carbon label, FoodSteps, to help our guests understand the impact of their food choices. In the same way that there is guidance for how many calories, salt and fat we should eat in a day, the same has been calculated for carbon. This carbon budget is measured in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilo (kg CO2e/kg) or more simply, carbon intensity. The rating system is based on this carbon budget, with A to E ratings to support more sustainable diet choices.  The FoodSteps impact assessments are from cradle-to-grave. This means that they include the impact of all life cycle stages of the process of producing and consuming food – farm, processing, packaging, transport, retail, end-mile, cooking and food waste. Find out more about FoodSteps.

Sustainability pledges

These are the Restaurant Associates’ sustainability pledges that apply to all the food and drink we serve at Hinxton Hall:

• Over 90% of our fresh produce is sourced locally in the UK. We have a British-first sourcing policy on all fresh produce and we are proud to have invested in many longer-term partnerships
• All our fresh eggs are British free-range or organic
• All our meat, dairy and poultry is Red Tractor farm assured
• 100% of our milk is sourced in the UK and is either certified organic or British Red Tractor farm assured
• We only use fish that is Marine Conservation Society certified 1-3 and avoid all fish that is caught illegally and by environmentally-damaging fishing methods.
• We only use pole and line-caught tuna, which is a sustainable fishing method used to catch tuna, one fish at a time
• All our fresh and frozen prawns are Marine Stewardship Council certified
• All of our berries are UK grown, fresh in season or frozen
• We only use British-harvested rapeseed oil in cooking
• All our cooking chocolate is Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance-certified
• We adhere to responsible soy certification standards as laid out by Round Table for Responsible Soy (RTRS)
• Our tea is ethically and responsibly sourced and plastic free
• We audit all of our suppliers regularly and prioritise suppliers who have carbon-neutral accreditation
• Our canned water is Life who fund clean water projects across the globe through every drink sold
• We have eradicated the use of many single-use plastics such as straws, stirrers and cutlery

Read more about Restaurant Associates’ sustainability pledges.