14th June 2012
Sustainability is a big word at the moment, not just due to its length but the fact that it is cropping up as important to people in all areas of their lives. As such, the hospitality industry is not immune to this latest trend, and some experts think that it is set to become an even bigger deal.
With this in mind our attention turns to the humble chicken - a staple on many a restaurant menu up and down the country, but how much do chefs know about their chickens? Well not a lot apparently, not according to Mark Hix of the
Sustainable Restaurant Association, reports Big Hospitality. He suggests that most chefs do not know the name of the chickens they are serving - I do of course not mean whether they are Freida or Fred, Charlie or Christine - we are talking about their breeds.
But why is that so important? Well the breed helps to determine the provenance of the chicken and very few chefs would dare to admit that they don't know the breed of the cows their beef comes from or the pigs which produce their pork. So why is chicken any different? Is it because chicken is seen as a less special meat and that as long as it is
free range then there is no problem? Well with the things that chefs can do with chicken then it certainly shouldn't be and as chicken is so popular it should be given the same respect as other meat.
So what do customers think? Well they often tend to take guidance from the industry itself and if chefs and restaurants express the importance of knowing about chicken breeds then they come to expect it. It has been predicted that as time goes on customers will become keener on knowing about the
sustainability of the establishments they frequent. Just as fair trade and recycling have grown from being in the minority to major considerations for customers it is thought that sustainability as a whole will do the same.
