3 Innovators Regenerating the Way We Eat & Drink
Meet the creatives doing something deliciously different
Words by Holly Friend
When we think of the relationship between regeneration and food, our minds often go to technical places. We think of agriculture and farming industries; the importance of maintaining topsoil and creating circular loops from waste. But regeneration can mean many things, from reviving neighbourhoods and lost cultural practices to adapting our diets around the seasons and, increasingly, the changing climate.
Around the world, countless innovators are considering these elements and reformulating the way we eat and drink. They are creating new habits, recipes, spaces and businesses that put not just the planet but also animals and humans front-of-mind. Here, we’ve selected three standout concepts; each challenges the mainstream rhetoric around regenerative food and drink, going beyond climate-smart building techniques and ingredient sourcing to bring more experimental and agile concepts to the fore. Read on to discover exactly how they’re changing the game – from spotlighting the diets of ancestors to rethinking the family meal and bringing climate resilience into business models.
Arduino, Italy – Returning to ancestral ways of farming and feasting
Images by Lido Vannucchi
Nestled between the rolling hills and mediaeval villages of Bolgheri, Tuscany, sits Arduino, a farm and vegetarian restaurant that takes its inspiration from the land. The region might be best known for its vineyards, but its founders – partners Fabrizio Bartoli and Martina Morelli – are aiming to diversify that reputation. “We are the black sheep of Bolgheri,” says Morelli, who oversees the day-to-day runnings of the farm. “In this winemaking region, there’s a danger of ruining fields with monoculture crops. We’re trying to change that.”
How are they doing this? The answer is multifold, and incorporates everything from the vegetables that feature on the restaurant menu (seasonal, grown in their garden or foraged locally) and compost practices (made from scraps in the kitchen and manure from local horses), to the wine available in the bar (biodynamic, from local producers who are updating Tuscan traditions) and fresh produce sold (a pandemic lifesaver, aimed at local families and businesses).
The central pillar of Arduino is the continuation of ancestral practices. The farm itself belonged to Bartoli’s grandfather, and its olive trees span as old as 140 years. For bread products – the wheat of which is grown on-site – mother yeasts have been handed down from Bartoli’s grandmother, while the food is cooked by primal means: fire. There are no gas cookers, instead dishes are roasted on flames, smoked, dried, or even cooked underground. The restaurant is made entirely of wood, handcrafted by the local carpenter, and even the guest experience is rooted in simplicity, as seasonal guests dine en plein air to stay connected to the surrounding nature.
Future generations are also front of mind, with the couple holding onto the seeds of every plant they grow in order to create a seed bank that is “stronger, more resistant, and more used to the land”. Archiving is important – 50 varieties of fruit tree, too, are being catalogued, with the intention to protect lesser-known fruits from falling victim to modernised tastes and changing environments.
“To continue the practices of ancestors, cooking methods such as open-fire cooking and fermentation are handed down through generations ”
Though the farm has been handed down through generations, it hasn’t always been regenerative, and Morelli recognises the importance of knowing when to diverge from their ancestors’ practices. “Four years ago, we introduced farming animals like chicken, sheep and goats,” she explains. The vegetarian menus feature animal products like goat’s cheese, but the animals’ role here focuses on regenerating the land. “We’re working on one part of the land at a time. In three to four years, we won’t use any machinery on the land; nature will do its thing.”
Casa Lawa, Sicily – Creating a family of chefs, creatives and locals
Images by Lukas Lewandowski
In Sicily, in the shadow of Mount Etna, a gathering of strangers joins forces in a new regenerational experiment. Pushing the meaning of the term beyond the technical, referring to agriculture or materials, Casa Lawa explores what it might mean to regenerate neighbourhoods, skill sets, and our understanding of how to live in a more circular way. “People coming here, whether they’re making a tablecloth, reading a book, or cooking food for the workers who are building our swimming pool, everyone is part of the circular ecosystem,” Lukas Lewandowski tells Looms.
Casa Lawa is a guesthouse and chef residency conceived by Lewandowski, a former chef and creative director who took the pandemic as an opportunity to uproot, along with his husband, from Amsterdam in pursuit of focus, community and nature. He soon found what he was looking for in rural Sicily. The guesthouse is open to all, but Lewandowski is especially eager to help urban creatives like himself attain new perspectives. “Italy is very traditional and can be closed-minded to change,” he says. “As an openly gay person, it’s important to me that we regenerate people’s minds and share our experiences, to show that we can create a safe space outside of a city.”
“People from different countries and heritages approach the soil, the ingredients and the Italian culture through new eyes”
The 10-acre property, which sits between the towns of Sant’Alfio and Milo, was built from lava stone in 1812 and used to operate as a grape press. Today, chefs are invited to live at Casa Lawa for two weeks at a time, and encouraged to experiment however they wish with the seasonal local produce. “They’re culinary artists more than chefs,” Lewandowski explains. “As people from different countries and heritages, they approach the soil, the ingredients and the Italian culture through new eyes.”
Casa Lawa is also a place where regeneration is viewed through the lens of community. Lewandowski wants guests and residents to feel like part of the same family, an idea fostered by the workshops they are invited to host– from fermentation and baking to watercolour painting. “They become participants: maybe they’ll work on a project together, maybe they’ll go to the beach together,” he says. “The mission of Casa Lawa is organic, it’ll arrive as more people do.”
Tillingham, UK – Celebrating the success and failures of biodynamic wine
Images by Sam Harris
Climate change has been wreaking havoc on wine harvests around the world, as heatwaves and wildfires take their toll on grapes in traditional winemaking regions, from Napa Valley to Bordeaux. The changing weather is pushing the climate for wine-growing further north, and one of the countries turning warmer temperatures into wine is the UK.
A new study published in the Oeno One journal found that significant areas within England and Wales are projected to become up to 1.4°C warmer during the growing season by 2040. “A few areas of the UK may see growing season climates similar to those that contributed to the very best recent vintages of Champagne, as well as support increased potential for Burgundy and Baden-style still red wines,” explains Dr Alistair Nesbitt, of winery consultancy Vinescapes.
Tillingham is one such opportunist recognising the potential of the UK as the next climate-adaptive winemaker. The vineyard, based in Sussex, has been exploring the possibilities of English climate and terroir since 2017. It has now grown beyond a working farm and biodynamic winery to encompass a hotel and restaurant with a shared mission.
Climate change may be the reason Tillingham exists, but the farm wants to offset this by minimising its harm on the environment. For a vineyard to be certified biodynamic, the holistic ecosystem that grows its grapes must incorporate other plants as well as livestock. Tillingham does just this, while also using a no-dig policy and polycultural farming methods to restore soils and achieve wider ecological diversity. In its winemaking, tasks are undertaken by hand, from the annual harvest to the bottling and packaging, and inspiration for its low-intervention approach comes from millenia-old winemaking traditions, made possible by the Georgian qvevri vessels introduced by founder Ben Walgate to ferment the wine underground.
When it comes to implementing regenerative practices on the farm, Walgate’s team had a headstart. It had barely opened to the public when Covid-19 lockdowns hit, giving its small team the time and space to focus on finding sustainable solutions. Since reopening, its hotel and restaurant operate with true circularity in mind. Vegetables are planted according to the lunar calendar; general compost is made from kitchen scraps; and its tasting menu, which was created by new head chef Brendan Eades, formerly of zero-waste restaurant Silo, has been designed exclusively around meat reared on its own pastures, fish caught daily in the local harbour and vegetables from the garden.
It’s not just about the successes, however. Part of its commitment to betterment is about learning from its failures too, which its team publishes in a journal to encourage others to incorporate regenerative farming on a community level.
