Bristol’s three Better Food cafés have become the first in England to receive the Soil Association’s Organic Served Here Award.
The cafés – which serve breakfast, lunch, hot drinks and snacks – collected four stars in recognition of their commitment to sourcing sustainable food by using 93% organic ingredients. 
Local organic producers are championed at the cafés in Whiteladies Road, Clifton; St Werbughs and Wapping Wharf, such as Godminster Cheese, meat from Adey’s Farm in Gloucestershire and vegetables from The Community Farm in North Somerset.
Better Food, which later this year celebrates its 25th anniversary, has long been a major player on Bristol’s organic food scene. It opened its third store and café in the new Wapping Wharf independent food and drink quarter on Harbourside last year.
Head chef Lewis Griffith said: “We want to celebrate the organic food on our menus and are proud to tell our customers about it. Lots of families eat with us and we’re delighted that they are getting the best organic produce the South West has to offer.”
The Organic Served Here scheme was launched by Bristol-based the Soil Association in Scotland last year and rolled out nationwide from last month. 
It assures customers that awarded eateries source between 15% and 100% of their ingredients from certified organic suppliers. The higher the percentage of organic ingredients, the higher the number of stars they can apply for.
As customers demand ever-increasing transparency about the provenance of their food, sales of organic produce are on the rise. The Organic Served Here stars are designed to make it easy for diners to make positive choices when eating out.
Soil Association catering mark project manager Lizzi Testani said: “Bristol is a foodie city and people here are switched on to organic – they know it means higher levels of animal welfare, lower levels of pesticides, no manufactured herbicides or artificial fertilisers and more environmentally sustainable management of the land and natural environment – it means more wildlife! Better Food’s Organic Served Here stars will attract Bristol’s foodies!”
Better Food founder Phil Haughton said being the first eatery in England to go for their Organic Served Here stars was an obvious next step for the business.
He said: “Better Food has always had a close relationship with the Soil Association, and our customers recognise their logo as a guarantee of high environmental and ethical standards when they shop.
“Those same standards have always been found in our café food, so Organic Served Here is a brilliant way to celebrate the work that goes on in our kitchens and remind our customers why they choose to eat at Better Food.”
