An ethos of sourcing locally, championing seasonality, and eradicating food waste has seen The听听group secure a 3* 鈥楩ood Made Good鈥 Rating from the听听(SRA) 鈥 making them the first independently owned restaurant in Wales to achieve the respected accreditation*.
Pasture restaurants are a celebration of fire-based cooking and incredible local ingredients; in-house butchers handpick and prepare the very best meat from selected local farms raising grass fed cattle, and a team of chefs use it to cook modern dishes which change with the seasons.
Sam Elliott is the 35-year-old Chef-Owner behind The Pasture Restaurant group – which comprises two restaurants in Bristol (, opened in 2018, and听听opened last year); and two restaurants in Cardiff (a second听听which opened in 2020, and听听which opened earlier this year). In 2024, Sam will also be opening听Prime by Pasture;听a butchery, deli, cookery school and burger joint in the Redcliffe Quarter, Bristol; and听Pasture Birmingham听at Fifteen Colmore Row in Birmingham city centre.
Since Sam founded Pasture in 2018, he has always been passionate about working closely with local suppliers to operate in a responsible way.听 Under Sam鈥檚 ways of working, Pasture has scored exceptionally highly in all three categories assessed by the SRA for its 鈥楩ood Made Good鈥 rating 鈥 environment, sourcing and society.
路听听听听听听Environment: Pasture鈥檚 highest scoring category, the SRA commented on the group鈥檚 鈥榚xtensive steps鈥 to tackle food waste – including composting all inedible food waste in an on-site anaerobic digester. Staff are also trained on food waste prevention, all used cooking oil is recycled, all cooking charcoal is sourced sustainably, and suppliers are carefully chosen for their own commitments to environmentally sustainable practices.
路听听听听听听Sourcing: Pasture excelled this category by maintaining direct and transparent relationships with its small-scale, local suppliers. Additionally, Pasture runs its own farm,听听just outside Bristol, where heritage produce is grown for the restaurants, and where staff are taken to learn about provenance and seasonality.
路听听听听听听Society: Pasture was commended for demonstrating its commitment to wider society by working only with suppliers who share its values, and by using profits from filtered water sales to donate to local charities tackling homelessness and mental health issues.
Sam explained,
鈥淢y vision for Pasture was always to champion the best possible produce made in the best possible way, so it feels great to have our efforts officially recognised. The Sustainable Restaurant Association awards its Food Made Good rating to restaurants that meet a very specific set of criteria, and we are very pleased to have achieved the maximum three-star rating. It means the world to the whole team, who all work exceptionally hard to make Pasture what it is.鈥
Pasture鈥檚 Head of Culture and Sustainability Alec Wilkinson听补诲诲别诲,
鈥淭o achieve this rating meant going through an extensive deep dive of our whole operation 鈥 but through such a rigorous process, we鈥檝e been able to accurately evidence our commitment to sustainability for the first time. We鈥檝e also seen this have a knock-on effect with our staff who are coming to us with new ideas 鈥 and also with producers in our supply chain; many of those we work with are now looking at ways to improve, formalise or communicate their own sustainable actions and commitments moving forwards, which is great to see.鈥
Juliane Caillouette Noble, Managing Director at the听Sustainable Restaurant Association听said,
“The Sustainable Restaurant Association is delighted to award Pasture with a three-star rating in the 2023 Food Made Good Standard. Our comprehensive, rigorous and holistic certification assesses the sustainability of hospitality businesses across their entire operations, from transparent and responsible sourcing practices right through to the culture they create for their staff. A three-star accreditation is a truly incredible achievement and indicative of an outstanding dedication to sustainability from the entire team at Pasture.”
Pearl Costello听is the听Sustainable Food Places Coordinator听at听–听the city鈥檚 rapidly growing听food听partnership, and the organisation听behind the campaign to make听Cardiff听one of the UK鈥檚 most sustainable听food听places by 2024 (). She added,
鈥淚t is wonderful to see the first听independent restaurant in Wales with a 3* SRA accreditation based right here in the capital city. Cardiff has a growing 鈥榞ood food movement鈥 and the hope is that where Pasture has set this example, more local restaurants will soon follow.鈥
To find out more about the Pasture restaurant group, visit:听.