Sustainable Superfoods: Brighton’s Real Food Café With A Zero Waste Policy

When SILO opened in Brighton late last year, there was a very clear intention. One mapped out by artist and restaurateur, Joost Bakker, three years earlier. In short… achieve nutrient dense food with zero waste.

Embodying a pre-industrial, primitive diet, SILO seeks to provide “quality through purity,” with a menu designed around real food in its wholest form. In addition, everything on the menu is sourced from ecologically minded suppliers.

Bakker, an artist and restaurateur based out of Melbourne, Australia, set out to “serve nutrient dense foods made from scratch – using primitive-proven preparation methods, only using produce sourced from ethical growers that practice methods that encourage healthy soils and bio-diversity – all this – without generating waste.”

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Douglas McMaster, equal parts chef (BBC award winning at that) and activist, brought Bakker’s mission to life and will tell you that behind every dish is a story to be told, of a farmer, a forager, a fisherman, a hunter, a brewer, a baker and many more. From emailing receipts to using recycled crockery, every element has been stripped back.

A great deal of rudimental food preparation happens on site including fermentation, activation of grains, and inoculation (that’s some intense vocab) of mushrooms – and SILO run workshops to teach these processes. You might even notice wheatgrass growing in up-cycled drainpipes at the entrance to the café.

It’s hard to believe that in producing such exceptionally healthy and delicious food, SILO could simultaneously achieve zero waste – but that’s exactly what has been achieved; across breakfast, lunch and a tasting menu for dinner.

SILO even encourage local businesses and neighbours to drop by with their food waste for composting – so if you cringe at the thought of wastage, maybe you could book a table and do the same? 

39 Upper Gardner Street, North Laine, Brighton BN1 4AN

www.silobrighton.com