Riverford Field Kitchen awarded 5-star organic food rating

Devon’s Riverford Field Kitchen has secured five stars in the Soil Association’s Organic Served Here scheme – as the popular Devon restaurant boasts a menu using 100% organic ingredients.

The Riverford Field Kitchen has its roots in an organic vegetable box scheme started by farmer Guy Watson in 1987. What started as a local delivery to 30 friends in Devon has grown to the delivery of 50,000 boxes a week from a variety regional farms to homes around the UK.

Guy, who won Best Organic Farmer 2017 at the Soil Association BOOM Awards, said: “Organic food is food as it should be – it’s at the heart of what we do at Riverford.

Riverford’s sister venue, London’s Riverford at The Duke of Cambridge in Islington, has also worked with the Soil Association for a number of years and became the UK’s first and only certified organic pub.

Glyn Morgan Riverford Field Kitchen Manager, said, “Organic is a way of life for us. The people who eat here share our values and being able to see where their lunch is grown from where they sit, is all part of the Riverford experience they have come for.“

“We believe that field to fork is a model that is both sustainable and very much in demand. Our chefs get to work with the freshest seasonal produce everyday and our guests always experience something new on the menu.”

The UK organic market is now bigger than ever; it grew 6% in 2017 to be worth £2.2bn. Organic sales in food service, including through the Organic Served Here scheme, grew by 10.2%.

Further Soil Association research reveals that 48% of people don’t feel that there are enough places serving sustainable or ethically sourced dishes, with 43% stating that having organic food on the menu makes a restaurant more appealing.

Clare McDermott, Business Development Director for the Soil Association, said, “It is a pleasure to work with The Riverford Field Kitchen, who have been a great advocate of organic food for decades.

“As organic food sales are increasing, consumers are becoming more engaged in the origins of their food. Organic Served Here offers clarity and assurance for today’s more ethically-minded consumers.

“There are many reasons why organic is the way forward. Organic always means fewer pesticides, no artificial additives and preservatives, free range, no routine use of antibiotics, and no GM ingredients. Further, the rigor of the organic certification process means organic food and drink is always fully traceable and trustworthy. Simply put, organic is food as it should be.

“The award is easy for restaurant and café owners to achieve, by switching basic things like milk and eggs they can achieve accreditation. Plus the process is simple and straight forward.”