Nothing edible is wasted.

Briefly tell us how you work with sustainability at Ora

Ingredients: Every part of every raw ingredient is used for food unless it is inedible—dehydrating, fermenting, making stocks, or just using all parts for food on or off the menu. Yield percentage of the kitchen is almost 90 percent of everything brought in unwashed or untrimmed. Nothing is purchased without thought—we only buy plates, cutlery, and glasses if it’s urgent and absolutely needed for service. All take-away boxes, stickers, bags, and cutlery are compostable and our driver drives a 100% electric vehicle.

Wine: We keep a small wine list, ordering just enough for every week, and all leftovers and corked bottles go into our vinegar projects.

How do you work with food waste? Do you have guidelines and goals in regards to waste?

We make an average of 250g of food waste per day at work. All other pieces of vegetable, meat, fish, fruit, or whatever—are saved to use for food: frozen, dried, fermented, juiced, pickled, and such. Guidelines are clear to all—nothing edible is wasted.

What consideration has been taken for durability in materials, manufacturing methods, and sustainable producers?

Our tables have been handmade out of our national tree, birch. We take care of them ourselves—sanding them and oiling them several times a year. Our walls are also made from birch. Our chairs are saved and renewed from my last restaurant, so they’re recycled. Most of our plates are from 2014 to 2018—which I bought for my previous restaurant, we just don’t buy new ones for flashy looks. I want us to use them until we have to buy new ones. We have not bought new clothes or uniforms in3 years now, we picked good sustainable materials that can last. We also recycled our old tables to make trays for the new restaurant. We have no tablecloths and last bought napkins3 years ago—20 new ones to have a minimum amount to wash two times a week for guests.