PERNOD RICARD BAR WORLD OF TOMORROW: FROM THE BAR TO THE FARM – 31ST OCTOBER 2022
By Belinda Ng
On a breezy Monday morning, the Food Made Good HK team travelled with 16 bartenders and Pernod Ricard Asia brand ambassadors to Farmhouse Productions, a local organic and regenerative farm in Kam Tin for our third ‘Bar World of Tomorrow’ workshop of the year.
The day began with a tour of Farmhouse Productions by Director Chunling Fong, who introduced the bartenders to the variety of fruits and vegetables that were being organically grown at the farm. Then, workshop leaders Heidi and Valentin delivered an interactive training session focusing on various aspects of sustainability ranging from brand knowledge, sustainable sourcing, responsible service, and sustainable bar solutions.
“More credit needs to be given towards the initiative, passion, knowledge and especially the hard work of consistent practice. Congratulations, there is definite inspiration and energy that was felt!”
Si-Hyeong Kang
Mostly Harmless
It was lovely to see the bartenders take what they have learned and consider how they can apply it in their own bars through the workshop’s various interactive activities. Most notably, as part of the ‘Lightning Decision Jam’, the bartenders worked to individually brainstorm key challenges facing the implementation of sustainability practices in their bar, and collaboratively developed solutions for issues including access to composting, and reducing food and ice water wastage. Many bartenders agreed that reusing leftover ice-water to clean tables is a viable and effective solution, and it was amazing to learn that some bars were already making a conscious effort to use leftover fruit peels in innovative ways. Our interactive workshop wrapped up with commitments to follow-through on actions for change, with one bartender commenting on how the workshop showed him how “building habits step by step is an effective way to adopt more sustainable practices”.
In the spirit of experiential learning, and given the workshop’s focus on sustainable sourcing and its fitting location on an organic farm, the highlight of the day was the opportunity for the bartenders to showcase their creativity in the ‘Sustainable Cocktail Making Session’. Chunling introduced bartenders to the range of fresh herbs on the farm, and bartenders excitedly got to work making their own sustainable cocktails with Chivas Regal whiskey and Lillet. The atmosphere in the room was fantastic, as everyone got to work cutting, shaking, stirring, smelling, and tasting. There were creatively coloured and named drinks, which made full use of the natural colors and scents of the herbs and flowers the bartenders had picked directly from the farm.
As for what happened to all the food scraps from the cocktail making? One of the key takeaways of the workshop was learning about how composting works as a food waste processing method on the farm. Chunling showed us how Farmhouse Productions collects ‘green’ components like fruit scraps, and ‘brown’ components like our biodegradable lunch bowls, and mixes them together with wood chips sourced from Y-park to create compost piles that will become useful fertilizer for the farm’s crops after around five to seven weeks. This segment of the workshop left plenty of food for thought about the importance of raising public awareness about food waste separation to transform our current food supply chains from a wasteful linear one to one that is more circular and restorative.
It was an inspirational and fun-filled day. We are so glad to have had the opportunity to help more bartenders champion sustainability! Thank you to the bartenders from Uncle Ming’s Whisky Bar, ZZURA, The Daily Tot, Barbuonasera, Cruise, Vibes, Westside Hospitality, and Mostly Harmless for attending. A big thank you to Pernod Ricard Asia, ambassadors Hannah, Benjamin and Athena, and our Food Made Good HK team for their support!
Want to join our training? Learn how we can support your organisation in delivering bespoke educational sustainability courses. Please get in touch at hello@futuregreen.global
This content was created prior to our rebranding to Future Green, as of 28/11/22, when we were known as Food Made Good HK.
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