'Hyperlocal’ the latest trend as restaurants grow their own

(Carmen Steiner)

Restaurants and food stores where produce is grown on site and then used in the menu or sold on to customers are becoming more common and set to be the next big thing.

‘Hyperlocal' is set to become the new buzzword in gastronomy according to a July 6 report on trend-spotting website springwise.com. It refers to the increasing number of ‘hyperlocal' commercial establishments around the globe that grow their own produce on site, either for use in their menus or to be sold directly to the consumer.

UK grocer Thornton's Budgens based in London completed a project entitled ‘Food from the Sky' which involved the construction of a rooftop garden growing organic produce to sell in their local store. The construction of the Garden was completed with support from The Positive Earth Project, a London-based organization encouraging the production of local produce for commercial use.

According to a report published July 7 in the New Zealand Herald, Shane Osborn, owner of double Michelin-starred London restaurant Pied à Terre, uses herbs produced on the roof of his restaurant in the menu, and hopes to expand on the project.

Several American restaurants including the Blue Duck Tavern in Washington, DC, and Blue Hill Farm restaurant in New York, have also begun to grow produce for use in their menus on their patios. Self-made billionaire of Virgin fame, Richard Branson also opened a culinary resort called Ninety Acres, in New Jersey, USA in 2009. The resort works in tandem with a farm located on the property to produce 80 percent of the restaurant's ingredients.

The trend has yet to really take off in Europe though some restaurants such as Alain Passard's L'Arpège do grow a majority of their own produce; however it is not grown within the restaurant itself.

Restaurants growing food on their own premises is seen as a step on from the so-called ‘Locavore' movement which started in the middle of the 21st century's first decade and encouraged restaurateurs and consumers to only purchase products brought within a 100-mile radius.

For information about hyperlocal restaurants in America www.zagat.com

Information on The Positive Earth Project at http://thepositiveearthproject.ning.com/