Ponte Vecchio
Trattoria Italiana
Sustainability
Sustainability is a core focus of our business and we are always looking to lessen our environmental impact.
This is a constant process, and among the many things we still want to tackle are our diversifying our wine list, knowing more about the worker's rights for our products, doing more to reduce food waste including pickling + fermenting.
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When Alice writes our menu, seasonality + locality in mind are fully considered. We believe that putting emphasis on vegetarian + vegan options helps the menu be more sustainable.
As you would expect, some of our ingredients come directly from Italy, but we make a point of using as many local, ethical suppliers as we can: Nizi bakery, Ludlow Gin, Fodder, Country flavours eggs, Bartonsham Farm dairy products, Neil Powell Master Butcher + Springfield Chicken are invaluable to our business. Our close relationships with suppliers like Vin Sullivan for our fish, means that we discuss what is seasonal and that we don't use particular species during their periods of regrowth. Our fruit + vegetables are supplied by Total Produce. We grow our own herbs + soft fruit at home + on our allotment.
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Good energy supply us with renewable electricity + carbon neutral gas. We train our staff on how to reduce water + energy use. Our lights are all LED.
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Our tin, plastics, glass, paper + cardboard are all sorted + recycled by us. We print our own menus, so we don't have excess when the choices change. We use cotton tablecloths + linen napkins, which we wash ourselves at home, along with the rest of our dirty laundry.
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Importantly, we don't have major revamps. Our restaurant is refreshed when necessary, so even though things aren't new + shiny, the surroundings are still warm + friendly + not going to be outdated as trends fade. We own all our equipment, as opposed to hiring it, so we really care for it + if something breaks, it is fixed, not replaced.
Our food waste + coffee grounds are all taken home for composting. If you can't finish your meal, we will wrap it for you to take home and can give instructions on how to reheat it. We also make a point of taking leftover food home with us if we know it will spoil before it gets eaten. Critically, Alice's menu is created to ensure that half of what is on a plate, isn't prepared unless it is requested during service + the rest is prepared daily - a system which has taken years to hone and changes with each menu - but dramatically reduces kitchen waste. Our waste oil is converted into biodiesel.
Like the rest of our industry, we have had to make a lot of changes in the way we run our business in response to Covid19 + the switch to takeaway is a major change to how we usually operate. This has presented us with a big challenge due to the amount of waste generated by the containers needed, which are normally single use plastic. After much deliberation we have decided to use Vegware, a plant based disposable container. Although compostable, it needs to be disposed of in a commercial setting due to the higher temperature need to aid decomposition + a home composter can't reliably provide this. We have invested in a hot composter at home which will break down Vegware + our food waste in 12 weeks, and we would like to close the loop
+ ask you to rinse + bring back any Vegware containers you get from us so we can dispose of them properly. So we are not overwhelmed before we begin, please do not bring any compostable containers from other businesses. We have to learn how to use the hot composter properly + while we hope to open our hot composter up to other businesses before too long, we'd like to be confident in our usage before we do so.