it clean Keeping

lutruwita/Tasmania is well ahead of the curve when it comes to sustainability, but that doesn’t mean our chefs and restaurateurs don’t strive for improvement. Nola James looks at the top eco-friendly dining trends around the state and the venues that are leading the charge.

Ultra-ethical seafood

Kobi Ruzicka, owner of Hobart degustation restaurant Dier Makr is part of a growing cohort of restaurateurs who are serving sustainable seafood on their menu. It’s a sentiment shared by Whitney Ball, who co-owns Tom McHugo’s with partner Tom Westcott. “We see seafood as a specialty item,” Whitney says. That means forging close relationships with local fishers and limiting oyster service to the winter months, when the native angasi is in season.

No-waste markets

Single use plastics have been off the menu in Hobart since 2021, and Launceston has banned

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE their use at council-sponsored events, but two local farmers’ markets have gone one better by making sure every fork, produce bag and coffee cup is 100 percent compostable. Hobart’s zero-plastic Farm Gate Market, which recently celebrated its 13th anniversary, has a rotating roster of more than 200 producers who are audited to make sure their sustainability ethos extends beyond market day. And in Launceston, the Harvest Market team is undertaking research into the market’s carbon footprint, with plans to become fully carbon neutral (and zero-waste) by 2025.

Timbre Kitchen sources produce from neighbours; Harvest Market is cutting its carbon footprint; milk on tap at Pigeon Hole cafe; plastic-free Farm Gate Market; sustainable seafood at Dier Makr; find seasonal, local produce at Farm Gate Market.

Trade arrangement

When Matt Adams opened Timbre Kitchen, about 10 minutes’ drive north of Launceston, in 2016, his top priority was finding a more sustainable way to write the menu. “I put out a call on Facebook and Insta for backyard veg, saying ‘if you have any excess produce bring it in’.” These days, almost all his produce is neighbour-sourced (Matt trades it for restaurant vouchers). “We never say no to any of the veg. We look at the product and write the menu from that,” he says. “A lot of the stuff is preserved in peak season, so we can eat and serve it through the year, too.”

Coffee culture

The waste generated from our daily coffee extends beyond cups, with plastic milk cartons filling up recycling bins all over the shop. Expect to see more cafes transitioning to milk in kegs, a system which operates a bit like a beer tap, but for dairy. Mona is an early adopter of the technology, with plastic milk bottles banned throughout the museum’s eateries since 2021, but it’s not just for the big players. West Hobart cafe Pigeon Hole now has Ashgrove Milk on tap, in line with owners Richard and Belinda Weston’s (of Weston Farm) commitment to paddock-to-plate consumption.