Basically the km 0 kitchen is based on buying and eating what we have at our disposal, of course, making use of seasonal products, in this way we reduce the distances between the land and the kitchen and therefore reduce the cost. And we avoid the chain that generates a greater ecological impact on our consumption.
This avant-garde policy in our business units is also known as Slow Food. A movement that day by day becomes more of a global association that defends the so-called proximity kitchen. It is an anti-globalization trend that rescues dishes and ingredients in disuse. "Try to give life and food its most human part," Rosa Tovar, Vice President of the Slow Food Association in Spain.
Slow Food was founded in Italy in 1986 by Carlo Petrini. He is the driving force behind the Kilometer 0 manifesto, the Slow Food philosophy roadmap.
Today, a large number of Chefs stand out in this new Culinary Tendency. A list of restaurants and chefs, mostly of Spanish origin, have adopted this trend on the Slow Food website www.slowfood.es.
But what does it take for a dish to be considered KM 0?
At least 40% of the ingredients must be of local origin, including the base ingredient of the dish.
The distance between the origin of the ingredient and the place where it is going to be consumed must not exceed 100 km.
They belong to the 'Arca del Gusto' (catalog based on the recovery of forgotten flavors and gastronomic products of proven excellence that are in danger of disappearing) or they are 'Baluartes' (small-scale projects to advise groups of artisan producers). The ingredients, therefore, must be as close as possible, and those that are not are required to have the corresponding ecological certification. Of course, at least in the cards there will be 5 products of the Ark of Taste, next to the restaurant, or that belong to the general catalog of the Ark of Taste.
In the case of fish, it will always be necessary to prioritize what is obtained in a sustainable way and by inshore boats and what is sold in the fish markets closest to restaurants.
The Dish must include seasonal ingredients that are produced in a sustainable way, that do not contain GMOs and that are purchased directly from nearby producers, etc.
Adequate separation of the waste generated by the restaurant for subsequent recycling. In this way, restaurants become promoters of a new gastronomy that includes excellent, fresh, lower-cost and sustainable products for diners.
The Kilometer 0 Kitchen is offered by some restaurants under certain basic premises:
The products that are purchased are mainly organic and have the corresponding certification that accredits it, etc.
The Restaurant that wants to receive the Kilometer 0 Cuisine category by the Slow Food movement, must have in its menu a minimum of five dishes with ingredients that meet the requirements mentioned above.
The rest of the ingredients used in the production of the Menu and that exceed the distance of 100 km must be obtained in a sustainable way.
This category is closely related to ecochefs, and to all those cooks who want to be consistent with the environment and who link ecological awareness and gastronomy. This extraordinary fusion gives rise to the so-called Gastrobotany.
Fortunately, and thanks to Institutions with a high level of responsibility and social commitment, many Chefs, Sous Chefs and Line Cooks are aware of the ecological impact of Gastronomy and demonstrate it in their gastronomic creations in which they resolve a sincere commitment to agriculture and local livestock and, to the extent of their possibilities, avoid industrialized food.
Obviously, the Kilometer 0 Kitchen is more accessible for those whose restaurants are located outside the cities, since several of them have land where they can grow their own food, vegetables, fruits, and they even have a small farm where they can produce some foods. Menu creation is combined with food from local producers.
Since 1996, more than 750 products from more than two dozen countries around the world have been added to the Ark, from the Argentine Capia corn to the thyme honey from Monti Iblei in Sicily, the Finnish Kalakukko bread or the olive oil. extra virgin olive from ancient olive trees of the Valencian Maestrat. In Galicia there are three products: the corvo millet, the celtic porco and the Lira spider crab.
An outstanding International Chef who stands out as a reference of this type of cuisine is Chef Peter Roberston of the Raincity Grill Restaurant that is located in Vancouver, he, for several years, has been working to provide diners with high quality menus, as well as sustainable and ecological. At the moment there are more international than national references, although without a doubt, in our country the number of restaurants that will delight our palates will increase under this culinary trend called Kitchen Kilometer 0.
The Slow Food movement created a zero kilometer ('km W') restaurant guide: most ingredients are purchased directly from local producers and the rest are certified organic. In this way, quality is consumed and food in extinction is recovered. Slow Food -or slow food- is an international non-profit association that was born in 1986 created by the Italian Carlo Petrini. This movement arose in response to the “homogenizing invasion of fast food or fast food”, and the frenzy of fast life. Today it groups more than 80,000 people in 104 countries on the five continents. " Its symbol is the snail "because it moves slowly and calmly tastes its passage through life." The Fondazione Slow Food per la Biodiversità Onlus, whose main sponsor is the Regional Administration of Tuscany,It supports and finances Slow Food projects aimed at directly promoting the world's agrifood biodiversity through three major initiatives: restaurants with the kilometer 0 seal, Los Baluartes, and El Arca del Gusto.
In Spain, there is already a network of about forty restaurants with the distinctive km 0 mark, half are in the Basque Country and the rest are in Catalonia, Aragon, Asturias and the Balearic Islands.
