(chill piano music)
- Sustainability is a really big topic
here in London right now,
and I think that's a very good thing.
A lot of places are catching on to the fact
that we want them to be doing better,
however, there are a select few
that are going above and beyond
in making sure they give you a good experience
while also reducing their impact on the planet.
So I'm in Hoxton today,
and I'm taking you to Cub,
which is one of those restaurants
that is doing amazing things for sustainability.
(chill music)
- My name is Matthew Scott
and I am the head chef at Cub.
Cub was established two years ago
by Mr. Lyan and Douglas McMaster.
Essentially it's a restaurant
that has been set up to showcase
how sustainability can also be luxurious, fun,
and cool and tasty.
But it's also a free platform
for the creative people that work here,
to showcase what they can do
and to champion their passion.
(chill music)
The ethos is to be considerate of what we're doing
and why we're doing it
to reduce waste, carbon footprint.
The point is that we stand on our own platform.
We don't try to identify and mirror
and be any other restaurant,
and that kind of allows us to change things regularly
based on seasons and based on produce.
So it's more about that
than just cooking and showcasing your own ego.
(chill music)
- How do the drinks incorporate into the meal?
- The cocktails here are designed to be freestanding.
The menu is designed to equally showcase
drinks and food on separate platforms,
to showcase how exciting they can both be
and the drinks showcase ingredients
technique and skill.
And just as much sense as the food does as well.
(chill music)
- Hi, I'm Desiree.
I'm the new head bartender in Cub.
- [Jess] In terms of the bar industry,
is food and other types of waste a big problem?
- It is a problem,
and especially in the last couple of years,
I've seen lots and lots of bars,
trying to tackle the problem at least.
But yeah, I think that it's a very wasteful industry.
We don't use any type of citrus
to avoid waste,
of course,
instead we use a blend of acids.
This is our gin-based spritz.
It's made with celery juice and green bell peppers.
The celery's obviously gonna be re-utilized
from the kitchen.
- So I noticed you haven't shaken or really mixed anything.
Why is that?
- We try to waste as less water as possible.
We add water to the cocktails.
I can just grab a bottle from the freezer.
All the ice that bartenders use daily
to shake cocktails doesn't really get used.
So that's water that goes on the drain
at the end of the day.
(chill music)
- We have something very very exciting,
essentially, it's a living exhibition downstairs
called our Cub Cave,
which is run by our fermentation master called Johnny Drain.
Like I said, this is probably one of the weirdest tents
you've ever climbed into.
(Jess laughing)
And that smell is delicious funk.
Think Stevie Wonder.
This is like garams and misos,
and kojis and black garlic,
and kimchis and kombuchas,
and anything mental and mad that you can think of,
Johnny Drain makes it.
At Cub, we work very very closely
in partnership almost with our suppliers
to make sure that that disassociation doesn't happen.
It means that we're reducing our carbon footprint
when we're ordering.
(chill music)
This is a dish of leek and potato.
Most of the dishes are inspired by childhood memories
or memories of food from the past.
So we have leek and potato and cockles.
They're caught by a guy called Sean.
He's a guy that puts his profits
back into day boat fish repairs
and fish nurseries and lobster pot repairs.
The cockles were landed this morning in Cornwall,
super sustainable.
The leeks are super peak in season right now.
Breadcrumbs just sweated down
in a little bit of wild garlic,
finished with a little celery sabayon.
So we make that using all of the celery leaves
from bar waste,
and then the whole dish is wrapped together
with an oil made from the leek tops.
(upbeat music)
A pumpkin and its seeds.
And this dish truly represents
what closed loop cooking is about,
where we take one product,
in particular, this lovely seasonal pumpkin.
We skin it.
We use the skins to make a broth in oil,
we roast the seeds,
we slowly roast the flesh
and then glaze it in a pumpkin caramel.
Afterwards, we finish it with a vinegar
using all of the pumpkin pulp and yeast,
fermented by Johnny Drain downstairs,
And fermented pumpkin cream in the base as well.
(upbeat music)
- What else in the restaurant is sustainable?
- The materials that the tables are made from.
- What is it?
What are the tables?
- [Matthew] These are recycled yogurt pots,
walls that are made of natural clay that filter the air.
We have lights that are made from recycled paper.
- [Jess] Tell me a little bit about the area that we're in.
- We're in a place called Hoxton
which tails from one end of the street
that's very ungentrified,
towards constantly building and developing city.
At the other end of the street,
it's a street where The Verve, Arctic Monkeys,
filmed their music video.
And it's very ranged.
(upbeat music)
- This video is part of my sustainable London series.
So if you wanna know
how you can experience the best of London
while also reducing your environmental impact,
then watch the playlist that is popping up below me.