How restaurants can join Locavore movement

Previously, we explored what the Locavore movement was and why it has become such an impactful trend. It’s a growing movement supporting sustainability, where diners commit to eating food produced within a distance of less than 150 kilometres, in an effort to reduce pollution and promote organic natural resources. This trend is more and more important for consumers and restaurants joining this movement can uniquely position their brands as a sustainable place to eat. Want to know more about how your restaurant can cater to the Locavore movement? Just follow our useful guide.

How to become a Locavore restaurant?

🔎 Examine how your restaurant works and which suppliers you are working with

First of all, it is very important to analyse your restaurant in terms of the ingredients, furniture and products you use and ask yourself the following questions: Where do they come from? What are the ingredients that are listed on the label? Did I buy them in a supermarket or at a local organic store? Could I buy them from another local supplier? After this, you will be able to get an understanding of how many changes you will need to make in order to embrace locavorism in your restaurant.  

🗺️ Use local products from a radius of 150km

As mentioned above, the locavore trend means buying, cooking and eating food and products of proximity. After analysing where your restaurant sources its produce and products from, you will need to categorise them according to the possibility of buying them closer than you normally would. The next step will involve researching potential local food suppliers of these products. Local and nearby farmer markets are one of the easiest and most accessible points where you can start looking for products such as eggs, milk, cheese or vegetables. Of course, there will be some ingredients that will be difficult to replace at first but, don’t worry. Remember that getting started is already a huge step.

🍅Seasonal and organic 

Seasonal fruits and vegetables will be your best allies to create the perfect locavore menu. Sustainability is one of the main traits of locavore cuisine and you will achieve that by shortening food circuits. Cucumbers and tomatoes in summer, asparagus in spring, Brussels sprouts in winter or butternut squash in autumn are some of the ingredients that you can incorporate into your menu according to its season. Apart from increasing sustainability, your dinners will also benefit from best quality ingredients and flavours in your dishes. 

🤝Establish a network

As you research the different local producers in your area, you can start to create a network. It is very important to plan ahead and consider that it will take time until you can implement the changes in your restaurant. Therefore, you will have enough time to do a deep investigation into the process of production at different markets and choose the most sustainable and organic options. After that, it is important to nurture your communication with these providers to build a solid and fluent relationship that can bring you multiple benefits over time.  

📃 Shorten your menu 

Shortening your menu is one of the changes you should consider while joining the locavore movement. Think about it: the larger the menu, the more ingredients you require to create your dishes which, resulting in a higher risk of food waste. On the other hand, it will lead to a reduction of costs for your restaurant. Nowadays, people want simplified options and to be able to customise their dishes. An added benefit - the shorter the menu, the easier it will be for your dinners to remember why they like your restaurant. 

💬 Inform your clients 

Now that your restaurant is a locavore dining destination, it’s time to tell your dinners about it. Ongoing communication will be very important here to keep your diners up to date. Let them know how and why you have updated your menu through different channels: use your social media, email marketing, your website and even your staff when they are talking to diners in-house. Social media is a great platform for you to share regular content about how your menu has been updated and the change of ingredients and dishes. Doing this will also allow you to establish a sustainable reputation for your restaurant and grow in popularity amongst dinners and the industry.

Following these tips, you should be ready for your restaurant to join the locavore movement. While moving to locavore dining will require an investment of time, don't be discouraged. You have all the tools to make it happen and be part of a trend which will be good both for the environment, your restaurant and your diners.