For 8 years, they have been serving new culinary experiences by combining dishes with matched cocktails, in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. Vogue Poland has included Eliksir in the top 10 most beautiful cocktail bars in Poland. In addition, in 2024 they got awarded with the Green Michelin Star. The motto of owner Pawel Wator is: “When turning daily products such as onion or garlic into other dishes or drinks, e. g. turning garlic into a cocktail, imagination is the only blockage you got.”

R’s are important in Zero-Waste.

·        Refuse – e. g. do not accept free plastic bags for vegetables or fruits, do not use disposable packaging.
At Eliksir they do not accept garbage from suppliers, refuse to accept transport packaging (especially plastic), the do not accept products of poor quality or with short use-by date.

·        Reduce – e. g. don’t surround yourself with objects, buy wisely, limit the number of things you own to those you actually use.
At Eliksir menus are created with a view to maximize the use of products, leftovers are used e. g. in bar sections (e. g. using orange peel for garnish). Eliksir buys products from local suppliers and processes products with the highest efficiency of human and electrical energy consumption; collective packaging for as many products as possible; equipment and fittings are regularly serviced and of the latest generation; they eliminate the use of single-use plastic.

·        Recycle – In addition to the well-known sorting of waste, this includes e. g. recycling things we have at home, for example aesthetic glass bottles can be used as vases.
At Eliksir the waste gets segregated into 5 fractions – bio / mixed / glass / paper / plastics and gets weighted for 3 months with a plan to reduce.

·        Repair – Instead of buying new shoes just because the old ones are falling apart, just glue them together or take them to a shoemaker.
At Eliksir servicing devices give greater certainty that they will serve longer in the company. In addition, handyman / DIY – minor repairs do not require much skills. In addition, at Eliksir, there are procedures for reporting initial damage, so that you can react quickly and fix something before it is too late.

·        Rot: compost organic waste such as cores and peelings, use biodegradable items e. g. wooden toothbrushes.

·        Reuse: Try to make the most of what you already have: e. g. instead of buying new jars for food products, use those that contain canned cucumbers or dried tomatoes from the store.
Eliksir gives marinades, syrups and production trims in the kitchen a second life, e. g. in staff meal; champagne bottles become their filtered water bottles and incorrectly printed documents are used for internal notes.

·        Remember: even a whole bag of zero waste gadgets will not take care of the environment: you have to analyze your daily activities and consider consumer choices.
Eliksir: When doing everyday activities, remember that you can always do more or improve what you are already doing. At Eliksir they regularly check product expiration dates and recommend balanced when selling a la carte.

Benefits of introducing the zero-waste policy in Eliksir.

The zero-waste policy at Eliksir has benefits in all three areas of sustainability: economic, social and ecological:

Economic

·        Lower consumption of electricity and water

·        Lower repair costs

·        More efficient employees using efficient tools and proper instruction

·        Lower cost of dishes and therefore a better and more competitive restaurant offer

·        Lower waste disposal costs

Social

·        Support of local suppliers

·        Offer at prices accessible to the local community

·        Employees who are properly trained and committed have a sense of participating in sustainable development

·        Seeing the actions of Eliksir, others are also motivated

Ecological

·        Less garbage in landfills

·        Less energy consumption means less use of the earth’s natural resources

·        Lower carbon footprint of products from local suppliers

“You can save some food and still be a great restaurant with great dishes, which you can charge the people money from it and earn some money.” – Pawel Wator

How to train and mobilize employees in sustainability.

It is important, that your employees are interested and know about sustainability. Therefore, Pawel Wator from Eliksir presented the three methods they use to encourage their staff:

·        Sustainability trainings online, right from the start

·        Active participation of the staff in sustainability matters

·        Show the staff the effects of their work on sustainability

Summing up.

“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly” – Anne Marie Bonneau – author of book The Zero-waste Chef. “Check yourself to be better.” – Pawel Wator

Source: Best-Practice-Speech of Pawel Wator organized by the ETSM2030 project, which took place on July 23, 2024 and https://www.eliksir.pl/en/sustainability/