Pignut restaurant in North Yorkshire scoops national sustainability award

The team behind Helmsley’s Michelin-recommended Pignut restaurant is celebrating after winning a national award.

Pignut restaurant has won the Sustainable Business award for the second year in a row at The Staff Canteen Awards and owners Tom Heywood and Laurissa Cook say they are delighted with the accolade.

Chef owner Tom said: “It’s a credit to our customers who have come in and voted for us. We’ve got such a loyal customer base, who know what we do and can see how hard we work at it.

“We do really focus strongly on sustainability. We source everything local, use small suppliers and farmers. It’s really important we support everyone around us, not just ourselves.

“This year has been great. We’ve won three AA rosettes, we’ve won this sustainability award again, have been super busy, had lots of good feedback, lots of returning customers. Everything is going great.”

The award also comes after the Pignut restaurant was given Carbon Neutral status by Carbon Britain.

Tom and Laurissa were given the accreditation to show that the restaurant’s carbon footprint has been reduced and the remaining carbon footprint is offset through certified projects in Britain and around the world.

“We have always focused on sustainable practices such as having a zero-waste policy and ensuring we use hyper-local producers,” said Laurissa.

Ingredients at Pignut are exclusively sourced from hyper-local businesses and the menus are ingredient-led by what’s available from suppliers.

Herbs, fruit and vegetables are picked by Tom and Laurissa themselves at Helmsley Walled Garden – which is run entirely by volunteers with the focus of using gardening to improve mental health and wellbeing.

The pair have also forged exceptional relationships with North Yorkshire farmers and growers, including sourcing pork from Otterburn Farm – which is just four minutes from the restaurant.

Other key suppliers include Moorside Mushrooms, which prioritises environmentally-friendly practices throughout the whole cultivation process, and Newfield Organics in Fadmoor.

Pignut restaurant has also teamed up with Dunesforde Vinyard, based in Upper Dunsforth, Boroughbridge, which specialises in cold-climate wines.

The Staff Canteen Awards, which are now in their fourth year, shine a light on hospitality’s finest across eight categories. An awards ceremony was held at London’s Scotland House earlier this month.