Sustainability at Chiquito

Bet you thought we were just all about fajitas and margaritas eh? Well, you’re not wrong, but we believe we can create fantastic food and drink - all whilst still taking care of our planet. In fact, we work hard to ensure we’re always putting the environment and people before anything else; we want to leave the planet in a better place than we found it and look out for one another along the way. Here are some of the ways we’re working to do just that…

Food Waste

Did you know, in 2020, as part of The Restaurant Group, we donated 12.69 tonnes of food to Fareshare. Our food waste per guest is actually below average, but we’re working with the SRA to get it even lower.

Energy Emissions/Carbon Footprint

Did you know, we’ve been consistently reducing our carbon footprint for 11 years. Our operations managers have access to an online portal to monitor and reduce energy levels, which has played a vital part in our 11 year consecutive carbon footprint reduction. We use remote meter data to highlight wastage and saving opportunities which the teams see in their portal before carrying out necessary changes with guidance from the remote energy manager resource.

We have also invested in energy-saving technologies, installing intelligent extract controls, cooling and refrigeration controls and trialling both enhanced cold-room insulation and thermostatic radiator valves at certain sites.

So far, we’ve been awarded for our Kwh reduction by SRA and have been shortlisted for the National Energy Awards! We know we’ve still a way to go but, go us!

Reduce / Reuse / Recycle

In 2019 we removed all plastic stirrers and straws from restaurants - this one was such a no-brainer. We’re now consistently diverting our waste from landfill, only a minimal amount of general waste still goes there, at which point it’s segregated at a facility and recycled or incinerated and turned into energy. Our zero to landfill percentage is currently at 99.24% - we’re almost there. (This excludes landlord provided services.)

Animal Welfare / Sustainable Food & Drink Choices

Did you know, our steaks are locally sourced from Irish Farmed Beef. They’re then cut into steaks in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. Our prime beef is derived from steers and heifers producing the highest quality beef and all cattle is reared to Bord Bia welfare standards, which means farmers are given measures to improve the sustainability performance of their farm.

Our fish is all MCS rated 3 or below and for farmed fish and seafood we only source from global gap or BAP 2* or higher certified farms. We use the Marine Conservation Society’s “Good Fish Guide” (which gives a rating from 1-5 for fish based on the fishing/farming situation and the way in which the seafood is caught).

What’s more, we’ve managed to reduce the sugar content in our milk chocolate sauce, equating to just over 1 tonne of sugar since the product was reformulated. You’ll also find no E numbers (the Southampton six colours!) in any of the products we serve to children and there are no GM foods, MSG or artificial trans fats in any of our products. Natural deliciousness only, thank you.