Johanneke van Iwaarden & Simone Bertini, Breda

Johanneke van Iwaarden, co-founder and owner, and Simone Bertini, head chef, at restaurant Breda in Amsterdam, how do you include suppliers in achieving your sustainable visions?

• We started working with a company that sells spices in reusable cans. As with our coffee supplier, the coffee is delivered in reusable containers. We don’t work directly with our farmers but choose to have a really good connection with our suppliers. They need to share our values and respect for the produce and nature. We speak with them daily.

Do you have the same criteria regarding your wine suppliers?

• For the wines, we actually work directly with the winemakers. I have visited many wineries and learned that in the wine industry, being a difficult one with many uncertainties and environmental struggles, the winemakers still make as much money as the suppliers. Producers put their heart into making incredible wines but only get half the money. So, when we were big enough, we decided to cut the middle man and put more money into the wine makers’ pockets, and simultaneously offering our guests a better price.

Do you have restrictions regarding suppliers’ distance as well?

• Absolutely, almost all our produce is local. Wines are only from Europe. Even the water we filter ourselves. And for sparkling water we use carbon dioxide tanks to fill filtered tap water with gas. Transporting water is crazy!