Cotswold pub operators scoop Soil Association prize
Yubby Inns’ Claire and Jim Alexander, the owners of the Ebrington Arms near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, and the Killingworth Castle near Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, have been recognised by the Soil Association for committing to sourcing 50-75% organic ingredients for dishes on their menus.
The venues have been awarded three stars in the ‘Organic Served Here’ awards scheme, an accolade shared by just 10 other pubs and restaurants across the UK.
The award scheme recognises and raises awareness of a venue’s commitment to serving organic food, awarding a star rating to correspond with the percentage of organic ingredients on the menu.
Organic growth
In addition to introducing comprehensive recycling procedures, collecting food waste to generate energy and using responsible energy provider Ecotricity – whose profits are ploughed back into renewable energy – Yubby Inns plans to introduce completely organic wine lists at both the Ebrington Arms and the Killingworth Castle by April 2019.
“Our customers have always been interested in the suppliers we use but we’ve been overwhelmed with the support in the move to going more organic,” Jim Alexander explained. “It means we can offer food and beer as it should be, with no synthetic pesticides or herbicides.
“We have spent a lot of time over the past year switching to more environmentally sound partners right across the board, from our energy and recycling to food and beverage suppliers and our three beers also went organic last year.”
Claire Alexander added: “Our teams have worked really hard to help us achieve this, they’re an amazing talented bunch.
“We’ve found some fabulous new suppliers that the chefs are loving working with and the customer feedback on dishes has been so positive.”
“We’re proud to award Yubby Inns three ‘Organic Served Here’ stars and are confident this shift in sourcing will be extremely positive for business since it can be very difficult to find places to eat out organically,” Sarah Jupp, business development manager for the Soil Association added.
