Sustainability is on the Menu at Zero Waste Bistro

Presented by the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York and curated by Finnish designers Harri Koskinen and Linda Bergroth, Zero Waste Bistro opens from May 19-22, 2018, as part of WantedDesign Manhattan.

Zero Waste Bistro will work as a dining experience, installation, and a series of programs during NYCxDESIGN during its four-day stint. It will explore themes of circular economy, new material innovations, and sustainability.

The pop-up restaurant will be constructed from renewable, recycled and recyclable materials, right down to the cups. The chef’s approach minimizes food waste—reducing, refusing, reusing, and, as a final resort, recycling the ingredients for dishes such as oyster mushrooms with doenjang miso, black sea bass with white sweet potato, and spent grain crumble.

For more information and photography of the exhibition, see below.

Left: Zero Waste Bistro’s bespoke communal table and table set is made of Durat Palace and designed by Linda Bergroth. The space, designed by Linda Bergroth features Alvar Aalto’s classic Artek stools and Hand Grenade pendants, and Iittala tableware, available from Finnish Design Shop.
Right: Zero Waste Bistro’s bespoke communal table and table setis made of Durat Palace and designed by Linda Bergroth. The space, designed by Linda Bergroth, features Alvar Aalto’s classic Artek stools and Hand Grenade pendants. The architecture is made of ReWall Naked Board, a material made 100% from tetrapak waste.

The Zero Waste Bistro, a thought-provoking four-day laboratory of food and design, comes to NYCxDESIGN this May. A dining experience, installation and series of programs at WantedDesign Manhattan, Zero Waste Bistro explores the themes of circular economy, new material innovations and sustainable design. Presented by the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York, a non-profit making a timely statement, the concept is co-curated by Finnish designers Harri Koskinen and Linda Bergroth. It introduces the food philosophy of Helsinki-based Restaurant Nolla, the first zero-waste restaurant in the Nordic region. A tasting menu developed with this philosophy will be served at brunch seatings May 19-20 and at breakfast and lunch seatings May 21-22. Reservations must be made in advance. Workshops and talks also held in the space will explore the themes of healthy materials, the circular economy and zero-waste fashion.

Before founding Restaurant Nolla this spring, chefs Luka Balac, Carlos Henriques and Albert Franch Sunyer worked at Michelin star establishments in Helsinki and beyond, constantly implementing ideas that could make the restaurant industry healthier for the planet. The average restaurant produces over a ton of waste every week. By developing a circular economy and following the simple philosophy of refusing, reducing, reusing and (only as the last resource) recycling – the Nolla chefs are working to achieve a zero-waste model. At Zero Waste Bistro in New York, the chefs will present a mouth watering, yet thought provoking menu.

“Our dishes at Zero Waste Bistro in New York will be comprised of local and organic ingredients as well as commonly overlooked byproducts of our food system. With a strong focus on sustainability, our menu has emerged from creative thinking and the desire to produce something delicious and authentic out of local ingredients that are often ignored,” says Chef Luka Balac.

Zero Waste Bistro’s bespoke communal table and table set is made of Durat Palace and designed by Linda Bergroth. Restaurant Nolla’s zero waste dishes served on a Teema plate by Iittala, available from Finnish Design Shop.

“It’s time to rethink the way we live, the way we eat and the materials we use,” says Kaarina Gould, Executive Director of the Finnish Cultural Institute. “Our seas are filled with plastic waste. In the US alone, over 58 billion disposable cups are discarded and sent to landfills every year. What if all of those cups were reusable, compostable or recyclable? What if our everyday packaging was made of plastic-free materials, reducing plastic pollution and toxic microplastics in our soil and water supply. What if we collectively committed to only buying products that we love and that will last a lifetime? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves as a society. With Zero Waste Bistro, we’re proposing a future that reduces waste and helps to regenerate our natural environment, making it livable for generations to come; a future that’s already here if we make the right choices.”

Designed by Linda Bergroth, in collaboration with Finnish Design Shop, Zero Waste Bistro will introduce tableware and furniture from Finnish design icons Iittala and Artek. Founded in 2004, Finnish Design Shop is the world's largest online store for Nordic design. The design classics featured in the bistro, including the Alvar Aalto pendants and stools and a new edition of Kaj Franck’s Teema series, underline the foundation of sustainable design; objects created to last a lifetime and beyond. "Well-chosen, good design products generate less waste, as they stay current decade after decade, and can be passed down for generations” says Reetta Noukka, COO of Finnish Design Shop.

Zero Waste Bistro is constructed using materials that contribute to a waste-free future, with Durat surfaces and ReWall building materials. Durat, launching their new Palace collection at WantedDesign, offers a sustainable and completely recyclable solid surface material made from recycled plastics. The Finnish company has been pioneering in circular economy production for 27 years. Made entirely from upcycled packaging and industrial waste, Iowa-based ReWall offers a healthy, high performance building material created to bring the circular economy into everyday life.

Zero Waste Bistro’s bespoke communal table is made ofDurat Palace and designed by Linda Bergroth. Restaurant Nolla’s zero waste dishes served on a Teema plate by Iittala, available from Finnish Design Shop. The Durat composite is made of 30% post-industrial materials and natural pigments and is 100% recyclable.

Takeaway cups from Zero Waste Bistro will be made from a repulpable cartonboard provided by the Finnish company Kotkamills. Most take-away cups are lined with plastic, meaning they can’t be recycled and are destined for the landfill. Kotkamills’ innovation is the ISLA® Duo barrier board for disposable cups. With a water-based dispersion barrier, this material is a radical game changer in the world of sustainable food packaging. Also providing responsible packaging for the pop-up is Sulapac. Sulapac’s fully biodegradable packaging is made from renewable raw materials and is completely free of microplastics. Eliminating plastic from packaging materials, Sulapac products are comprised of wood from sustainably-managed Nordic forests.

“I’ve created the dining area as a space within a space, using all sustainable materials,” says Bergroth. “The design is like an installation that functions both as a restaurant space and a platform for talks and debate.”

Cocktails for the Zero Waste Bistro’s opening party and daily cocktail hours will be served by Kyrö Distillery, the world’s northernmost distillery from the Finnish village of Isokyrö, producing the award-winning Napue Rye Gin.

Zero Waste Bistro will be serving Napue Gin by Kyrö Distillery, the world’s northernmost distillery. The space, designed by Linda Bergroth features a bespoke Durat Palace communal table, Artek stools and Iittala tableware, available from Finnish Design Shop.

Other partners of the Zero Waste Bistro at WantedDesign include Finnair, the Finnish airline pioneering in sustainability, and Oklin, a company reducing food-waste in commercial environments by 90% with on-site composting.

A program of talks and workshops exploring the themes of sustainability, zero waste, and circular economy will be announced prior to the event.

Zero Waste Bistro will open from Saturday May 19 through Tuesday May 22 at WantedDesign Manhattan. Due to limited capacity the Zero Waste brunch and lunch seatings must be pre-booked and prepaid online. To learn more, go to www.fciny.org/zerowastebistro.

Bookings open here on May 8 at 10am.

Zero Waste Bistro

Four days of food and design at WantedDesign Manhattan
Terminal Stores: 269 11th Avenue between 27th and 28th St, New York
May 19-22, 2018

Zero Waste Bistro’s bespoke communal table and table set is made of Durat Palace, designed by Linda Bergroth. The space, designed by Linda Bergroth, features Alvar Aalto’s classic Artek stools and Hand Grenade pendants. The architecture is made of ReWall Naked Board, a material made 100% from tetrapak waste. The Durat composite is made of 30% post-industrial materials and natural pigments and is 100% recyclable.

Zero Waste Bistro’s bespoke communal table and table set is made of Durat Palace and designed by Linda Bergroth. The space, designed by Linda Bergroth, features Alvar Aalto’s classic Artek stools and Hand Grenade pendants. The architecture is made of ReWall Naked Board, a material made 100% from tetrapak waste. The Durat composite is made of 30% post-industrial materials and natural pigments and is 100% recyclable.