Skye Gyngell pledges to make Spring plastic free by 2019

ORIGINALLY from Australia, and now one of Britain’s most respected and acclaimed chefs, Skye Gyngell has exercised the philosophy of cooking and eating with economy and grace at Spring restaurant since 2016. Located in the new wing of Somerset House the restaurant first introduced the sustainable scratch menu two years ago and has gone on to eliminate plastic straws, looked into biodegradable cling film alternatives and now has announced its plans to be plastic free by 2019.

Although the step to eliminate plastic straws has also been taken by restaurants such as El Pastor, Quo Vadis, and The Clove Club, Skye’s pledge to be completely plastic free by 2019 will make her one of the first restaurants in London to do so.

The interior of Spring, London

The interior of Spring, London

Skye was inspired to take on the sustainable challenge after attending a talk by the founder of grassroots organisation A Plastic Planet, Sian Sutherland. Skye says after talking to Sutherland, she “was simply overwhelmed by the amount of plastic we use – it’s everywhere, from something so simple as a recipe file to clingfilm. I wanted the elimination of plastic at Spring to be our new goal for 2018”. With the help of her plastic ambassadors, Skye is hoping to have a positive impact on consumer habits in the restaurant industry.

The interior of Spring, London

The interior of Spring, London

Introducing ingredients that are often overlooked, Skye is known for her unique and organic approach to cooking. Think beetroot tops and potato skins turned into simple soups, trimmings of pasta baked with cheese, or yesterday’s bread transformed into warm bread pudding. On the Spring website, it notes that 40 per cent of all fruit and vegetables grown in the UK are discarded before ever reaching a shop shelf, simply because of their appearance. Pushing for a plastic-free restaurant alongside her eco-friendly ingredients displays Skye as a pioneer of environmental issues in the restaurant industry.  Skye’s venture is all about taste, not waste.

Skye Gyngell

The interior of Spring, London

by Lily Rimmer

Spring, Somerset House, New Wing, Lancaster Place, London, WC2R 1LA

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