With the aim to promote sustainability in Seychelles and the restaurant community, Trois Freres Distillery, renowned as the producer of Takamaka Rum, has initiated the Islands Bar Sustainability project.

The project's primary objective is to research, conduct trials, make improvements, and offer support to drive meaningful changes that will foster sustainability within the Seychelles bar and restaurant community.

The founder and managing director at the Trois Freres Distillery, Richard D'Offay, said, "It is an initiative that aims to inspire the hospitality community to implement meaningful change across the islands. It is designed to research, trial, improve and support the islands' bar community and forms part of our deep-seated commitment to the people and environment we call home. The project will be executed in collaboration with experts from some of the world's best bars around the globe, to share knowledge and support the way the whole industry approaches sustainability at the bar."

D'Offay told SNA that this project is especially important given the location of the Seychelles and the lack of access to raw materials that are frequently used in the bar and restaurant industry.

"Bar sustainability is challenging, especially in a remote location like Seychelles where some raw materials are expensive and often difficult to find. Our goal is to research, trial, improve and support the industry to make small changes with a big impact," he added.

A workshop in partnership with The Cambridge Public House was held in January with participants from the bars in Seychelles.

"We invited the team from the renowned Paris-based bar, The Cambridge, which is currently No.38 on the list of The World's 50 Best Bars, to bring insights from their globally recognised sustainability programme to the bartenders of the Seychelles," said D'Offay.

The training focused on how to reduce reliance on expensive, imported citrus fruits, as well as how to reduce waste and improve yield. (Gran Kaz) Photo License: All Rights Reserved

He said that Cambridge's acclaimed bartenders Nicolas Goradesky and Xania Patros spent time experimenting with the wealth of delicious fresh produce available across the islands whilst learning more about the unique sustainability challenges faced by Seychelles hospitality.

They also hosted discussions with local industry leaders alongside training sessions with local bars and restaurants. The training focused on how to reduce reliance on expensive, imported citrus fruits, as well as how to reduce waste, improve yield, and find alternatives here in the Seychelles that will have a significant impact on both the environment and the bottom line.

D'Offay confirmed that the Trois Freres Distillery intends to continue the project and will bring in more experts to Seychelles throughout the year to work in collaboration with local industry leaders as well as working hand-in-hand with the Seychelles Tourism Department's Sustainability efforts.

"We are committed to supporting ongoing change by providing the equipment needed to local bars and restaurants and ensuring a consistent supply of the necessary components. We will also be inviting more global experts to Seychelles," he told SNA.

Among the participants at the workshop were representatives of Gran Kaz, a casino, bar and restaurant in Seychelles.

The public relations manager at Gran Kaz, Shama Amesbury, said that they welcomed this initiative especially since they were already looking into more sustainable practices as well as adapting their operations to be more ecologically conscious, and they were very interested in this workshop.

"The Master Class was quite interesting. We were introduced to the Eco Spirits product, which is a very interesting concept aimed at reducing the number of single-use bottles in FnB establishments. This is a fantastic way I believe to minimise our carbon footprint. We also got to learn from the experiences of The Cambridge pub,"said Amesbury.

She added that Gran Kaz has various projects in which it is incorporating sustainability and and eco-consciousness throughout the year. One of them is their super juice which aims to address the significant challenges posed by the import and potential waste of citrus fruits."

"We walked away with a lot of information and of course, inspiration for different ways in which we can reduce our carbon footprint as a bar," added Amesbury.