Kitchens, sustainable? Beyond km 0

We have heard it many times: km 0, proximity, ecology or biodynamic agriculture. These are terms that are part of the vocabulary of many restaurants, capable of selling a sustainable discourse and offering, at the same time, dishes based on cross-border avocado. Sustainability is fashionable, but it is often applied superficially, with the certainty of one who knows they have nothing to certify. We live in the dictatorship of km 0 and we take it to the limit: some menus even highlight that their fish and vegetables come from the fish market and local agricultural fields. Making a slogan out of gastronomic logic. 

Sustainability sells a lot, but it is little worked on. It is presented as a label linked to the environment, but, in reality, it is much broader. Let's look at one of the most accepted definitions of the term, which comes from the 1987 Brundtland report of the United Nations. Sustainable development is "the satisfaction of the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their own needs." Thus, we are not only talking about recycling, absence of plastic, use of LED lights or efficient appliances. Being sustainable is a way of being in the world and making it lasting. 

Let's also look at the Holy Grail of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. People and their well-being play a central role in them and, precisely for this reason, entities such as The Sustainable Restaurant Association emphasize the importance of guaranteeing decent wages in restaurants. In addition to asking what cooks, front-of-house managers, and waiters earn, it is also interesting to consider what "the family" eats between services, since in many cases it is usually the cheapest pasta from the Horeca channel. Let's think about it for a moment: what sense does it make for a place to bet on local products and then poorly feed its workers?

Research within restaurants is another characteristic of broad sustainability. You don't have to go to fine dining to find establishments in Barcelona that create innovative recipes or improve gastronomic processes. Toni Romero from Suculent ---where, by the way, he has one of the best staff meals in the city---, Marcelino Jiménez and Julia Kleist at The Green Spot ---who have developed a Food Lab---, or Matteo Bertozzi at My Fucking Restaurant ---who excels at fermented foods and homemade miso---, are examples of chefs who explore and create new flavors. 

Ada Parellada at the restaurant Semproniana, for her part, allocates part of the profits from her Arrels menu to the organization that bears the same name. There are also rice restaurants that, like Ca la Nuri or L'Estupendu, donate a percentage of their dishes to social initiatives. We are not clear why only rice dishes, and not escudellas or bikinis, generate solidarity actions. But this is, without a doubt, a small action that allows involvement with the rest of society. 

You don't have to go to fine dining to find establishments in Barcelona that create innovative recipes or improve gastronomic processes

Considering the ethical sphere of these initiatives and thinking of new ways to advance sustainably are some of the challenges for the coming years. As diners with glocal concerns, let's not forget, we have the power to prioritize gastronomic proposals that seek a lasting future. And, to know if a restaurant is integrally sustainable or not, perhaps one only has to look at the small things: that the menus are short, that the dishes are innovative, and that the smile does not leave the waiters, despite the stress of the service.