At Carters of Moseley, we aim to be sustainable, zero-waste & consider our impact on the environment with absolutely everything we do, no matter how big or small. Our efforts showcase how we as individuals can alter our habits to work towards fixing the current flaws in the contemporary industrialised food & waste system.

Two key projects we focus on within our Research & Development are:

• Systematic investigation into the optimal combination of 100% British raw ingredients, preparation process and cooking regime required to develop a range of unique food recipes with optimal flavour, texture and aesthetic profiles that fully replace their foreign couterparts. For example;
  • Replacing the flavour of coconut with English Fig Leaves.
  • Replacing flavours such as nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla with indigenous wild alternatives such as Melilot Flowers, Alexander Seeds & Hogweed.
  • Replacing organoleptic properties of foreign ingredients widely used in modern cooking with a range of alternatives, such as;
    • Replacing lemon with a range of alternatives i.e. homemade vinegars, pine needles, sea buckthorn, wild sorrel leaves & wild wood ants.
    • Replacing cane sugar with sugar beet or using an enzyme called amylase to break down starch into glucose.
  • Development into sustainable cultivation of wild indigenous flora, forgotten heritage varietals or foreign/exotic flora on an industrial scale so as to eliminate the UK’s reliance on importing these ingredients. Such as;
    • Pepper, chillis, sugar, tomatoes, hops & citrus fruits.
  • Development of a range of novel, ‘zero-waste’ recipes which achieve optimal organoleptic properties for the production of high quality & sustainable dishes.

Brad Carter uses British-sourced produce and little-known or ‘lost’ ingredients. Even exotic ingredients like kaffir lime leaves are grown in Evesham rather than Asia.

As well as growing produce on our urban allotment (development 1.1 miles away from the restaurant) other ingredients are sourced from biodynamic farms or sustainable environments within the UK. Some notable examples are:

• Fish is caught on day boats & our shellfish hand dived.
• We source salt from ancient brine springs 1hr from the restaurant in Droitwich & have a close relationship with it’s caretaker Droitwich Salt.
• Flour milled locally from ancient varietals using ancient techniques.
• Saffron & Manuka sourced from Cornwall.
• Our own urban beehives in Moseley.

We work directly with producers as much as possible to guarantee quality/freshness, reduce transportation to 3^rd party resellers & help avoid unnecessary packaging. It even allows us to generate change in their own sustainability policies & search for ways of optimising intensity of flavor through enhancing biodiversity in their farms.

We offer a Vegetarian menu but do not offer a Vegan menu. Our cultural connection to cheese, eggs & other biproducts of the food system is important to understanding how finding a natural balance for inhabiting the planet through biodiversity is imperative for successful cohabitation.

All of the animals on our menu are either:

• Retired breeding animals like dairy cows or dairy ewes.
• Wild game without natural predators like deer, rabbits & game birds.
• Invasive species such as signal crayfish sourced from from Midlands waterways (helping to limit devastation)
• Creatures, such as cephalopods, that are overpopulated due to a lack of balance in the fishing industry.
• Invertebrates (crustaceans, mollusc, insects)
• Ecologically positive creatures i.e. oysters, mussels & clams filter the water while ants are decomposers, they aerate the soil & pollinate as well as dispersing seeds.

Our ingredients come in whole, we practice whole animal butchery & we utelise every element with a true nose-to-tail philosophy.

We promote sustainability, cultural-historical relevance & are avid supporters of the rare breed movement that helps to secure the future of our rare & native breeds of farm livestock with direct historical links to wild animals. Brad Carter is also the founding member of the Birmingham Slow Food movement & a supporter of the Ark of Taste. Many of our ingredients are within the Ark of Taste.

We work with peak seasonality, observe the natural rhythms of the earth & follow a concept of shun (a Japanese word referring to seasonal ingredients as well as the time of year when a certain food is at its freshest & most flavorful).

To preserve these ingredients we use ancient techniques & processes which also provide an opportunity to alter flavour, texture & aesthetic profiles.

As a concept we consider everything for it’s economical value, carbon footprint & efficiency in relation to our micro & macro environment. We consider whether anything has an additional value which has never been realised. For example;

• If an element of the animal or plant is not suitable for the restaurant it ends up processed into a preserve like charcuterie or in our Staff Dinner. Such as;
  • If kohlrabi stem is on the menu the leaves are repurposed & cooked like cabbage – not thrown away.
  • If some cuts of the animal are not celebratory enough for the tasting menu or there are off-cuts, they can be minced, turned into sausages/charcuterie or repurposed for Staff dinner.
• Sourcing sustainable wood & charcoal as an alternative fuel source as well as a flavour booster. Then infusing the used charcoal into another ingredient to enhance flavour continuity.

Plastic containers do have a purpose, as long as they are reusable. Cling film could be eliminated by investing in these airtight reusable alternatives.

Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond the plate.

• The sous vide bags we use are donated to a company that recycle them and turn them into children’s plastic toys. The money made from these toys will then be given to Hospitality Action, a charity for hospitality workers who have fallen on tough times.
• Brad promotes projects such as making knife blades from used steel found in Birmingham’s Grand Union Canal & a handle reconstituted from recycled plastic bins.
• Brad also worked with Jamie Oliver & The Way Youth Zone to teach young people about cooking with fresh ingredients. A grass roots approach to changing how we perceive our current broken food system.
• Our crockery uses clay sourced from our allotment and it’s glazed with our used wood/charcoal ash.
• Our hand sanitiser is the only in the world that is made with small batch UK 100% organic barley for the base spirit.

All of our wines are ‘Natural’, farmed organically, biodynamically or dry farmed with a considered emphasis on biodiversity & sustainability. Each of our wines is made by small craft producers without adding or removing anything in the cellar. No additives or processing aids are used, and ‘intervention’ in the naturally occurring fermentation process is kept to a minimum. Even our Sake is minimal intervention.

Our spirits follow the same philosophy & we’ve also made our own gin using 100% British ingredients even replacing foreign spices with wild flowers & perennials to mimic familiar flavours. We believe the first of it’s kind.

We only serve Bruichladdich Whisky because it’s the only distillery that can guarantee full provenance of Organic & sustainable ingredients through it’s entire process.

Our Armagnac is made from 100% Organic Ugni Blanc grapes – something so rare it’s almost unheard of due to the industrialised agriculture monopoly from big brands like Hennessy,  Rémy Martin & Courvoisier.

All of our waste is recycled or converted into energy & nothing goes to landfill. We turn food waste into renewable energy (Gas & electricity) & the left overs are turned into a bio fertiliser so farmers can spread back to land.

We consider the bigger picture as not everything is as it seems. For example, the process for recycling paper may have a greater CO2 output than sourcing FSC- Certified Paper from renewable forests. Although sourcing from renewable sources may also be a broken system. Is the recycling process using coal energy? Is the FSC certification process corrupt? Not everything is as clear cut as people may believe so our philosophy is to remain educated & open-minded on alternatives while continuing to minimize or eliminate waste.