Art de Cuisine recognizes our corporate and social responsibility to highlight healthy, sustainable food options.

We do this to minimize waste, support local farmers and reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible! We call this “conscious catering”, and it greatly minimizes the impact of event activities on the environment.  We thoughtfully integrate sustainability considerations into all our business decisions, and we are proud to share them with you!

 
 

Our commitment to minimize waste:

The wedding industry is notoriously wasteful when it comes to single-use plastics. We encourage the use of real china, but when disposable is necessary, we opt to use biodegradable serving ware as much as possible. We also strongly discourage clients from spending money on items that will be thrown out at the end of the night such as individually printed menu cards, bubbles or plastic party favors. 

  • We use and send electronic documents rather than printing. 

  • Our dedicated and engaged catering team is very proactive about reducing event food waste. We recycle and compost all food waste onsite at each event. 

  • We grow many of our own herbs and edible flowers.  A portion of our compost production scraps directly feed into our own urban organic garden and worm bin that fertilizes our pesticide-free harvests.

  • We pay careful consideration to headcount in order to calculate food quantity. We also minimize waste by packing leftovers for clients and guests. In addition, we regularly pack and hand-deliver meals for our houseless community members throughout the Portland area. Redistributing surplus food ensures that more food is available for people to eat directly. 

  • We encourage china and flatware over disposable, but when disposables are necessary, we invest in compostable materials.

  •  We do not serve individual bottled water, only bulk beverages. 

  • All of our used cooking grease is recycled into biofuel and we only use eco-friendly cleaning supplies. We are also proud to be a Styrofoam-free environment.

  • In addition to reusable containers, we also have a strong focus on reusing any packaging in our kitchens wherever possible. 

Here are a few other ways we work to keep our services sustainable and eco-friendly.

  • We focus on supporting clean ingredient labels

  • Bulk items are used as much as possible to reduce packaging

  • We are proud to support many local farms and businesses to supply some of our produce

  • Recycling of all paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and metal in the kitchen and at events

  • Reusable tablecloths/linens

  • Vegan and vegetarian meals are available for anyone with a special diet, which reduces food waste and supports healthy food systems