Here are some questions to ask when evaluating whether your potential event caterer is making eco-conscious choices. Plus, some Toronto caterer suggestions.
Travel is usually the largest portion of an event’s environmental impact. And the second-largest? Food and beverage. However, the good news is, it’s also one of the areas where you—the planner—can easily tweak your choices without necessarily breaking the budget. Here are some questions to ask when evaluating whether your potential caterer is making eco-conscious choices.
1. Where is the kitchen located?
Is the catering kitchen located on-site at your event venue? If not, where is it located? On-site kitchens drastically reduce the distance required to transport food and beverage for your event, therefore decreasing carbon emissions, too. For those with catering off-site, you’re ideally looking for kitchens that are within 100 kilometres of your event venue.
Caterer suggestions: Most hotels—like Sheraton Centre, Delta Hotel Toronto, Chelsea Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel—have on-site caterers and kitchens. Convention centres—like Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) and Exhibition Place—do too.
2. Where is the food sourced from? And is it grown, raised or caught ethically?
While prioritizing local food—sourced within 100 kilometres of the event venue—is important, most food-related emissions come from how food is grown, raised or caught. It’s more effective to change one’s catering menu rather than solely focusing on where it’s coming from. Ask the caterer where they source their ingredients and whether the food is organic, fair trade or certified with Feast On, North America’s longest-running local food certification program.
Caterer suggestions: The CN Tower’s 360 Restaurant, MTCC and The Drake Hotel are all certified with Feast On. Others like Jayne’s Gourmet prioritize local sourcing as well!
3. What vegetarian and vegan options are available?
Something you can do as a planner is to take a look at what items on the menu are vegetarian and vegan. While having an all-vegetarian and vegan menu for your conference is certainly possible—PRI in Person’s 2024 event in Toronto did just that—think about incorporating as many plant-forward items in your selection as possible. For example, could all of your passed appetizers for a cocktail hour be vegetarian or vegan? Perhaps breakfast doesn’t have any meat, but lunch does? By making these choices and communicating to your event attendees your reasoning, the more likely they are to support these decisions.
Caterer suggestions: Noushe, Food Dudes, Kiss the Cook, Eatertainment and Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality all offer vegetarian and vegan options on their catering menus.
4. Are the chefs trained to use every part of the produce and proteins?
One thing that helps minimize food waste is when chefs and catering staff are trained to use every part of the produce and proteins—a.k.a. root-to-stem or nose-to-tail cooking. Questions to ask may include: Are all edible parts of fruits and vegetables used? (i.e., Are skins and ends from vegetables being repurposed for stocks or soups? Are carrot greens used for a pesto or chimichurri instead of being composted?) Are bones used for broth before being disposed of?
Caterer suggestions: Toben Food by Design Catering and Encore Catering both pride themselves on using the entirety of animals in their cooking to prevent food waste.
5. How are food scraps and waste disposed of?
When thinking about food—scraps and waste—we must also think about how it’s disposed of. Do the caterers have organic green bins in the kitchen? Are chefs and staff utilizing these bins? And are any extra prepared meals donated? Does the caterer already partner with a local food bank or food recovery organization like Second Harvest or La Tablee des Chefs?
Caterer suggestions: Marigolds and Onions and the MTCC both have partnerships with local food banks or food recovery organizations in place.
6. Is reusable or compostable dishware utilized?
One easy tip to reduce your single-use waste on-site is to remove it completely. This can entail replacing takeout coffee cups and stir sticks with reusable mugs and spoons and having dishware for all meals. Oftentimes, food trucks are enlisted to support mealtimes, and reusable dishware isn’t feasible. Ensure they’re using certified compostable items and that the waste management company you’ve hired accepts compostable dishware into their organic bins.
Caterer suggestions: Vert Casse Croûte and 1 Hotels—plus many other hotels—prioritize reusable and compostable dishware.
7. Do the breweries and wineries selected have environmentally responsible practices?
While the conversation around catering is predominantly around food, we can’t forget about beverages as well. Beer brewing requires a lot of grain, energy and water and leaves a lot of waste in the process. Many breweries, like Steam Whistle and Whitewater Brewing, incorporate greener practices into their operations, such as running on renewable energy, sending spent grain to farms to use as animal feed and improving water efficiencies. As for wine, ask for bottles sourced from the Niagara region. Specifically, biodynamic wines are made from low-impact crops. Examples of biodynamic wineries to look out for from your caterers include Tawse Winery, Southbrook Vineyards and Stratus Vineyards.
Caterer suggestions: 1 Hotels and many of Steam Whistle's preferred caterers—such as Food Dudes, Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality and Eatertainment—all serve these wines and beers.
8. What non-alcoholic beverages are being served?
Here are some things to consider when buying non-alcoholic drinks—from coffee and tea to juices and soft drinks. For coffee and teas, ask about the following certifications: The Smithsonian Bird Friendly Coffee Certification, Fairtrade International, Rainforest Alliance and USDA Organic. For juice and soft drinks, prioritize cans over bottles. Aluminum is recyclable, while plastic is not.
Caterer suggestions: Delta Airport Hotel serves fair-trade certified coffee in all their function spaces.
