Private Chef Cornwall & Beyond

The environment

What Chef Fiona NZ is doing to help the environment

I am incredibly conscious of the environment and our impact on it, which is why I do things the way I do. Sustainability is a word that gets used a great deal, but I am doing everything I can to ensure my methods and practices are as sustainable and environmentally conscious as possible. Unlike a restaurant, I only order and make exactly what I need for each booking. I do not carry a surplus of ingredients that will eventually find their way into the rubbish if they cannot be used. I make everything from scratch, from ice creams to breads; from kimchi to curry pastes. If I am left with any unusable food scraps, they do not go to waste, but are added to our compost heap, which in turn, fertilises our organic nano-holding.

only the best local produce will do

We all know that good food begins with fantastic quality ingredients. I source produce from local suppliers and producers to find the freshest and best quality ingredients I can. I design my menus around ingredients that are in season. When the garden and greenhouse are being productive, I like to use a lot of our own home grown produce, including herbs, edible flowers, soft fruits and eggs from my chooks. When it comes to foraging, I only pick tiny amounts of what I need to use as flavour accents, from tried and tested locations I have found to have healthy supplies. If it is rare or not thriving, I leave well alone.

Animal welfare is essential to my food ethos. I only use grass fed meats, free range pork, poultry and eggs. I believe that a genuine care and respect of ingredients and the environment are vital for the whole process from ethical farming methods through to the final methods of cooking.

Fabulous artisan cheeses are always popular. I also cure and smoke many ingredients myself. I only use locally sourced, sustainable game when it's in season - Tregothnan venison and rabbit only - no wildfowl or game birds. I select the finest sustainable crab, pot caught lobsters, fish and fresh shellfish are sourced from day boat fishermen and local merchants. Outstanding fresh fruit and vegetables come from local and organic growers. Flowers for the table are either home grown or sourced from small scale florists who grow all their own flowers and are based only a couple of miles from Chef Fiona NZ HQ. I am truly passionate about ensuring that the products I use, are the best!

Packaging and Beyond

For the food delivery service, I only use environmentally friendly packaging from sustainable resources that can be composted, recycled or reused. Any packaging that cannot be reused, is carefully recycled. Menus are printed on recycled paper, using the most eco friendly printer we could find. No ink cartridges here! Even the napkins are sustainably sourced and made from low impactful materials. I source environmentally friendly cleaning products and purchase in large containers, decanting into repeatedly reused smaller bottles to keep single use plastics to an absolute minimum.

Please be assured that I am taking the greatest level of care and consideration I can to ensure I keep my carbon footprint as small as possible.