CELEBRATE SPRING by embracing SEASONALITY

When planning an event, whether it’s social or corporate, the food will always be front and center. It’s important to consider the quality of the food, food trends, and sustainability.

Embracing seasonality and buying local can definitely help change our food system for the better.

Greek agriculture is gradually shifting towards growing new products – Greek avocados are now internationally acclaimed, and who would have thought? The little Malia bananas grown in Crete have to be the tastier and sweetest in the world. There’s no need any more to buy imported avocados from Australia, bananas from Colombia or veal from Argentina, knowing that they are most probably air freighted as is the case with perishable and short shelf-life items. Unsurprisingly, air freighting our food emits more polluting C02 than any other form of transport such as road or ship. Of course, as we face up to the challenges of climate change every pack of such imported produce landing in Greece adds to the environmental impact of our food.

Also, Greek agriculture today is using all new farming methods that allow having products all around the year, such as hydroponic culture that provides us with the most fragrant summery cherry tomatoes amidst the winter. Of course, as a country, we still rely heavily on imports for certain products.

As responsible event planners, we always like to propose menus that are largely based on locally sourced products that are mostly organically grown.

Locality is not the only factor when planning sustainable events. Seasonality is also key since these two usually go hand-in-hand. Using seasonal foods always forms a prime opportunity to increase the use of local farms and suppliers. Going local and choosing seasonal not only speaks to guests’ freshness but is consistent to RSVP’s effort to minimize each event’s environmental footprint.

Working closely with our catering vendors and chefs our goal is always to create menus that are as sustainable as possible by featuring local, seasonal & organic ingredients.

The client, however, takes ultimately the decision.

And this might prove easier than we think. After all, what can compare to the first bite on a juicy strawberry when they first come out in early spring?

Appendix

Here’s a list of Greek produce to look for in April:

• strawberries
• tangerines
• oranges
• lemons
• avocados
• artichokes
• peas
• carrots
• cauliflower
• shallots
• parsley
• lettuce
• broccoli
• beetroot
• radish
• rocket
• spinach
• asparagus
• fennel

Shop local, choose seasonal, prefer organic!