ACE Awards 2024: Sustainability in Catering

Congratulations to the first-ever ACE award recipient for Sustainability in Catering, Primal Alchemy! Catersource sat down with Dana Buchanan (owner of Primal Alchemy) for an insider look at their Sustainability at Sea event. 

Primal Alchemy doesn't use any aluminum lining in their pans, instead they wash them, In fact, theres very little aluminum foil use in their kitchen as a whole. 

Catersource: Can you tell me a bit about the event? 

Dana Buchanan: This public relations event took place aboard a client’s ship. This returning client is world renowned in the ecology realm and demands near zero waste events, which the caterer answered with their everyday green company practices. Due to the celebrity guests aboard and the request of the client, we can’t relay who they are.

Primal Alchemy uses reusable bags whenever they vist the farmer's market for shopping.

CS: Why was sustainability something that was important to your client? 

DB: For this particular client, it’s not only their ethos, it’s their brand, mission, and reason for being. Their mission is to bring the need for sustainability to the forefront of the minds of the public.

In advance of this event, the Primal Alchemy team spent a night camping at a local farm before helping harvest the following morning. 

CS: How were you able to achieve a sustainable event?

DB: From packing table cloths in recycled boxes, to no straws and edible or compostable garnishes, renting out mason jars instead of plastic cups, reusable spoons and shot glasses for appetizers, sparing the use of skewers, there are so many ways to avoid plastic waste. But not only plastic waste, but food waste, which is part of remaining sustainable. Our prep kitchen composted all of our vegetable scraps.

Of course, knife skills are important in using every part of raw product, so our kitchen is well versed. In addition, Chef Paul is a Certified Master Preserver and is an expert in making charcuterie, jams, pickles, etc. to use in our offerings. He also teaches some of these skills to other chefs (check out the Art of Catering Conference), as well as members of our community.

Sustainability also extends to the health and sustainability of our bodies. We always push for fresh juices instead of sodas. There are so many little efforts that we make in our ingredients as well to veer away from chemicals and additives that don’t support the farm to table ethos we believe in. Not to mention the waste that soda cans would create.

The cocktails for the event all featured edible or compostable garnishes. Additionally, Primal Alchemy didn’t use any plastic straws or swizzle sticks.  

CS: What challenges did you face?

DB: The challenge with any event we do where we are working with new vendors is the time we take out to educate them on what we require to remain sustainable. An example of that for this particular event would be our special request that they send the linens in recyclable cardboard boxes, rather than using hangers or plastic.

The event was on a ship, and so logistically, there were challenges. All equipment had to

be lifted and moved onto the boat. This meant everything had to be brought from and returned to the dock using a 40-foot ramp and carried up a gang plank and onto the vessel. The challenge, since we weren’t using disposables, was that it added weight to load on and off the ship on a ramp that was less than 2 feet wide.

We utilized a two-person office as our kitchen and had to bring in our tables over the

existing two unmovable desks. Since the kitchen was very small, staff had to be minimal. The door being swung open could hit someone cooking, so we had to find a way for servers to safely retrieve and pass appetizers. To ensure smooth sailing, we only had two kitchen staff and there was an expediter at the door, calling apps and passing them to servers. It helped that the client took our suggestion to design a menu that we knew would be successful with the logistics we were dealing with (passed apps in addition to a grazing table). This also contributed to less waste, less clean up, and quicker turnover of appetizers.

During kitchen prep, Primal Alchemy’s team uses compost containers to prevent waste.  

CS: Why do you think green/zero waste events are becoming increasingly in demand? 

DB: I think trends come and go. This movement need to be a permanent standard, not a trend. I believe this needs to happen with the core of my being. I think with social media, the word is getting out that we need to be conscious of what part we play in sustaining or damaging the earth, and what side of history we want to be on… considering that history will exist depending on if we manage to remain sustainable into the future. We have been doing sustainable events for 23 years. When we first started, we were the only ones with this ethos as our core value. It was hard to source, hard to market… everything was harder than it is now. We are so glad there are other caterers catching up with us and making this paramount in their business. We, collectively, need to make this the new norm and simply, the standard. When we go to events as a guest and still see so much plastic on buffets and used when passing appetizers, it makes us crazy!  

Primal Alchemy produces their own condiments in-house utilizing local fruit and veggies from their Urban Orchard and Gardens.

CS: What advice would you give to other caterers who are interested in going this route? 

DB: There are so many easy ways to stay green and sustainable that many catering companies don’t know or look into to find out. Firstly, JUST START! Realize that it is not necessarily more expensive to go green, and there are actually many ways to save money. This is the message we want so badly to relay in our talks at Catersource/Special Events and at other venues where we speak and teach. The advice I would give is to be a part of this effort NOW. Do some research, take our class or other classes like it. Or give us a call and we’re happy to share some tips with you. Be a part of the change you want to see in the world. Oh, and whatever you do, DON’T Greenwash! It’s not ethical. Marketing with flat out lies is going to backfire. We are also teaching clients out there how to uncover greenwashing. People are becoming more and more savvy to the reality of sustainability and are learning what questions to ask. So, you better know your stuff, and practice it.

Primal Alchemy uses glassware for all of its beverages, including the elimination of plastic water bottles or cups.  

CS: Why is it something that Primal Alchemy is passionate about? 

DB: Since day one, this has been a passion for both of us. We are passionate about spreading the word, and know that people have free will and choices to make. Like a lot of people, we have kids, and are very concerned about the world we are leaving to them.

We serve on several non-profit boards and encourage them to write sustainable requirements into their RFP’s. It doesn’t even cross their minds until we bring it up. We show up at city hall to advocate for green initiatives. We’re obsessed with making sure sustainable laws, (like no Styrofoam), are passed and enforced, rather than it just being a ‘photo op’ law. We host panels at one of our local theaters for film screenings of sustainable oriented films. Our depth of knowledge in urban agriculture, plastic pollution, glyphosate, food waste, sustainable practices is vast and deep. We live and breathe this. So, we have put ourselves in the position of being the ‘go to’ experts on these topics. We are happy to be that resource to support this sustainability trend becoming permanent.  

Primal Alchemy’s chefs demonstrate their knife skills by using every part of an ingredient in order to prevent food waste. 

For their linens, Primal Alchemy used items that were packed in recyclable cardboard, eliminating hangers and plastic bags.  

The Chocolate Ganache Lollipop Garden was completely compostable and reusable. 

The Primal Alchemy team stopped by a local farmers market to source its fresh local ingredients.  

Primal Alchemy uses patches to help keep fabric out of the landfill.

Nature provided the container for this locally grown pumpkin filled with mashed potatoes. 

Primal Alchemy's warehouse is full of repurposediItems that were purchased from estate sales, second hand stores, etc. 

Primal Alchemy utilized only glass containers for its sips, meaning no single use plastic shot glasses.  

Primal Alchemy uses reusable spoons instead of plastic single-use silverware. Shown: sustainably sourced shrimp.

Paper tape is a sustainable alternative to plastic stickers or plastic tape.

At a massive rainbow veggie station, local farmers who provided the produce for the 1,800-event served as attendants.  

Instead of creating water bottle and soda can waste, Primal Alchemy sets out water and Agua Frescas prepared using in-season local fruit from the farmer's market.

All photos courtesy Primal Alchemy unless otherwise noted