Drawing A Line In The Sand!

 During a recent trip to Las Vegas, I had the opportunity to interview Rick Moonen, the owner and executive chef of RM Seafood.  I was onsite doing a research project that centered on waste management issues with respect to restaurants and hotels, and Rick was one of my “research subjects.”  Besides operating one of the finest restaurants in Las Vegas, and without a doubt the finest seafood restaurant that I have eaten in in a very long time, Rick’s local establishment is also a very sustainable restaurant.

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justify">Rick has taken a somewhat unusual, but yet not totally uncommon, approach to sustainability – he only serves seafood that has been caught wild (he does not sell any fish that has been farm raised) and, in the same vein, only purchases seafood that is not on an endangered species list. yes">  He makes no exceptions: yes">  He has drawn his line in the sand!  When I asked him why he took this stand, he responded without hesitation, saying, “It was the right thing to do.”

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justify">Now, don’t get me wrong, Rick is not a “tree hugger” in the traditional sense of the phrase, but he is a restaurateur who is very aware of the environment and the almost unabated destruction of it that has been caused by humans.  Rick is a true master at preparing seafood – he has a world-wide reputation for doing so.  So, in order to have a truly sustainable operation that provides the finest seafood, he has to have a sustainable source of quality products – fresh fish that is not farm raised and that is not over-fished or endangered.  This is not a marketing “gimmick,” but simply an underlying philosophy that Rick, his staff and, just as importantly, his customers share. yes">  Because of Rick’s position, purchasing often has “issues” such as availability and cost, and this is frequently reflected in menu pricing and the selection of available items. However, this has not deterred Rick from pursuing his underlying sustainability philosophy. yes">  Nor has it deterred customers from visiting his restaurant!  In fact, it is just the opposite.

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justify">Oh, by the way, he also recycles all of his food waste, among other sustainable practices.  Waste from product preparation, along with plate scrapings, are collected and “served” to pigs at a local farm.  There is no cost to the restaurant to do this and, in fact Rick saves his facility money by not placing waste in the general dumpster and having to pay for it to be removed to a local landfill site.  As you see, it is a “win” for everyone – Rick’s profitability goes up as he reduces his waste haulage fees; the environment wins as less garbage goes into a landfill site; and the pigs win – they get to eat “gourmet” food on a regular basis! 

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justify">So, what is your “line in the sand?”  Are you willing to stake your foodservice reputation on something that you believe in, like Rick?  Are you willing to take that next step, whatever it is, to make your operation more sustainable in nature?  Draw a line for me, I want to see it and hear about it! yes">