Sustainability

Red Lantern voted in the Top Ten
Most Environmentally Sustainable Restaurants
(Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2010)

We have embarked on a journey to promote ethical eating. 
As much as possible we use the freshest in local sustainable and organic produce.

It is our dream to leave as light an environmental footprint as possible while staying true to our authentic Vietnamese origins.

Mark's New Book:
On top of his Ready Steady Cook commitments and running a busy restaurant, Mark managed to find the time to write a book about a topic he feels most passionate about. The Urban Cook - Cooking and Eating for a Sustainable Future.  Mark is most grateful that many of his suppliers have been very generous and forthcoming with ‘inside’ information about our meat, livestock and seafood industries.

Red Lantern's sustainable practices:
We now use Gundooee Certified Organic wagyu beef at Red Lantern, free range pork and organic poultry on our menu.  We choose only line caught fish or sustainable seafood and make all efforts to know its provenance.  We will introduce some unfamiliar sustainable seafood species on our daily specials to demonstrate that it is not necessarily the popularity of a species that makes good eating but rather how it is cooked.

We can proudly claim that Red Lantern uses only Kurobuta pork throughout our menu. Ethically, to use Kurobuta pork is a `no brainer` - the flavour and texture of this meat is truly amazing. Kurobuta Pork is the most highly prized pork in Japan and comes from the ancient breed of pig known as Black Berkshire. The meat from the pure oriental strains of Black Berkshire, found in Japan, is regarded as the highest quality pork in the world.

The Kurobuta farmer is a patient farmer who doesn't force growth on his animals in the modern intensive manner, but instead allows them to grow in a slow, natural way that gives juicy, tender, tasty pork. Kurobuta production is a leader in the trend towards producing food in a gentle, more natural way.

Red Lantern now use only Tasmanian Rain Mineral Water.  Captured from the purest skies on earth.  Tasmanian Rain has made a commitment to the environment by offsetting its carbon emissions through Elementree, an Australian company which plants trees based on water shipments and Company emissions.  Tasmanian Rain does this to give back to the environment from which the rainwater comes, and to ensure a sustainable business that everyone involved with the Company can be proud of.

Red Lantern use 41 Degrees South Salmon.  Delicious sustainably produced salmon from the clear waters of North West Tasmania.

We are excited to offer organic vegetables throughout our menu.  Mark personally frequents the Organic Markets at the crack at sparrows to purchase the freshest of ingredients.  Organic vegetables are by nature 'fresh.'  They are not held in cold storage and are only available within the season. Typically the vegetables are harvested 24 hours before they appear on the market floor especially if they are grown in NSW or Southern Queensland.  Organic vegetables are grown with integrity and we will endeavour to maintain the continuity from paddock to the plate.

Mark has transformed Red Lantern’s backyard into his very own ‘garden of tranquillity.’  Thanks Mark!  We have also installed a 400kg compost bin and our staff have been most diligent in contributing to it.  As most of you would already know we recycle everything!

Our aim is to reduce our ‘garbage waste’ by at least 2 wheelie bins a week.

We have also invested a rather large sum of money to install a waterless wok bench which will help conserve our water usage by a significant amount.  Every wok using restaurant should do the same.

In 2009, The Mayor of Fairfield City Council, Nick Lalich and Sydney Water presented Red Lantern with an award for our water saving efficiency and sustainable practices.

Red Lantern uses Cookers Bulk Oil System which safely delivers and picks up cooking oil responsibly recycled and refined to biodiesel.  From an environmental perspective this means no more packaging dumped to landfill with residue oil in the tins or boxes.  The loop is properly closed.

Red Lantern uses Ecologic - 100% organic based cleaning products.

Red Lantern uses GreenPower - Accredited Renewable Energy.

We are also proud to use Single Origin Roasters Coffee - Fair Trade and Organic.

Red Lantern 'WellNess' Herbal Tisane is especially blended for Red Lantern by leading naturopath Mim Beim using premium local organic herbs.

We use Delicious Dairies organic milk.

We use Biopak - sustainable packaging solutions.