Wednesday 7 October 2009
TASTE THE DIFFERENCE
The RSPCA reveals the restaurant & pub winners of the Good Business Awards 2009
London`s Duke of Cambridge pub is celebrating this evening after walking away with the best public house prize at the RSPCA Good Business Awards. This is the first time that pubs have had their own category and is designed to celebrate establishments across the country which have animal welfare at their core alongside the ever popular restaurant award.
Restaurant Alimentum, Cambridge, triumphed in the independent restaurant category, a year after they won the innovation award.
The 2009 award for innovation in the pub category went to The Feathers Inn, Northumberland whilst McDonald`s picked up the innovation award in the restaurant chain category.
The awards, presented at a cocktail reception at London`s elegant One Marylebone, were judged by an independent panel of industry experts2 based on criteria set out by the RSPCA.3
"Each year the standard of entries gets higher as more and more restaurants and pubs realise that customers want ethically-sourced food," said Richard Johnson, one of the panel of four judges in the food category, "In fact, with the introduction of the pub category, we were delighted to see that so many local pubs are committed to ensuring the meat they sell is ethically sourced.
"This year's independent restaurant winner, Restaurant Alimentum, stood out as a beacon. They continue to use free range animal bones in all their stocks, and organic meat that is reared to higher welfare standards. The Duke of Cambridge also keeps animal welfare at the centre of all they do, going above and beyond Soil Association guidelines to check on their supply chain.
Our innovation award winners were well deserved: McDonald's for its long-term, continued investment, and support of research into animal welfare; and The Feather's Inn in Northumberland, which offers innovative educational campaigns to visiting local schools in an effort to teach children about animal welfare. They are also committed to using every part of the animal and were commended for their stand against food waste."
David Bowles, Head of External Affairs for the RSPCA said, "Our restaurant and pub winners have set a high standard of Good Business practice for the industry to follow that they should be commended for.
"We are delighted to present the winners with these RSPCA Good Business Awards, and hope that they continue to innovate and motivate the rest of the industry to adopt good animal welfare policies."
"The animal welfare credentials of the items consumers buy is becoming increasingly important, and it is great to see some of the biggest fashion brands on the high street responding to this. These companies, who are striving to implement exceptional welfare standards such as George at ASDA, deserve our recognition as they set the standard for others to work towards."
For media enquiries, please contact Vaneetha Balasubramaniam or Nicki Akers at 77PR on 0207 492 0977. Email vaneetha.b@77pr.co.uk or nicki.akers@77pr.co.uk or the RSPCA press office on 0300 123 0244 or press@rspca.org.uk.
Find out more about this year's winners.
Find out how your company can be part of the RSPCA Good Business Awards 20010
Notes to editors:
1. The other categories in the RSPCA Good Business Awards are Food Retail, Fashion and Cosmetics.
2. The independent panel of judges in the food section comprises: Richard Johnson, journalist and TV presenter; Andrew Opie, food and consumer policy director, British Retail Consortium; Dr Geoff Spriegel, independent food consultant; and Professor John Webster, Professor Emeritus at Bristol University where he established a unit for the study of animal behaviour and welfare.
3. Companies entering the restaurant category were judged on the basis of their practices in the following areas:
- Welfare of beef cattle, dairy cattle, poultry, pigs, sheep and farmed fish
- Live transport of animals
- Welfare at slaughter/killing
- Labelling
- Import of meat and eggs from other countries
- Inspection of suppliers
4. RSPCA Good Business Awards Restaurant & Pub Finalists 2008 (in conjunction with Caterersearch.com:
Restaurants:- Cygnet Restaurant/Swan Inn, Inkpen, Berkshire
- McDonald`s Restaurants
- ODE, Shaldon, Devon
- Restaurant Alimentum, Cambridge
- The Duke of Cambridge, Islington, London
- The Feathers Inn, Stocksfield, Northumberland
- The Norway Inn, Truro, Cornwall
- The Swan Inn, Inkpen, Berkshire
5. To contact the Restaurant and Pub Winners:
Restaurants:- McDonald`s UK - Joy Clachan on 020 8700 7742 or email joy.clachan@uk.mcd.com
- Restaurant Alimentum - John Hudgell on 01223 413 000 or email john@restaurantalimentum.co.uk
- The Duke of Cambridge - Geetie Singh on 07957 645 996 or email gs@sloeberry.co.uk
- The Feathers Inn - Helen Greet on 01661 843 607 or email info@thefeathers.net
About the Good Business Awards
The RSPCA Good Business Awards were set up in recognition of the achievements of companies in the cosmetics, fashion and food industries to attain higher standards of animal welfare by implementing sustainable policies and practices.
The RSPCA is pleased to announce The Independent as the official media partner for the Supermarket of the Year People's Choice award of the 2009 Good Business Awards.
Pubs and restaurants compete to be named the UK's most ethical eateries
Cosmetic giants battle it out to be named the UK's most animal-friendly cosmetics company
High street giants battle it out to be named the UK's most animal-friendly fashion retailer
