Gaucho to open ‘carbon-free steak restaurant’ in Glasgow and calls for restaurateurs to join Sustainable Steak Movement

Gaucho is opening a restaurant serving ‘carbon-neutral steaks’ in Glasgow ahead of Valentine’s Day 2022.

The 120-cover venue will serve Gaucho’s Argentine beef from cattle that has lived in pastures at pampas farms. The group said animal husbandry and welfare were paramount and regenerative farming techniques used to reduce methane and greenhouse gasses at source.

The beef's carbon emissions have then been calculated from field to fork before being offset through a reforestation programme in the Amazon with charity partner Not For Sale.

The new venue announcement has been aligned with a call to action from Gaucho chief executive Martin Williams to fellow steak restaurateurs to join the Sustainable Steak Movement, which he has founded and launched at COP26.

The movement, aligned with Net Zero Now, encourages steak restaurants to sign up to a manifesto pledging that in 2022 they will offer a carbon-neutral beef option on their menus and promote a carbon-neutral wine offering, as well as commit to minimise food waste and use ‘green energy’ in their restaurants. By 2025 participating restaurants commit to offer a carbon-neutral beef menu and in 2030 to become net zero, using the Zero Carbon Forum roadmap.

Williams said: “Glasgow is the perfect location for our first new Gaucho restaurant since 2016 for many reasons, none less than it being the home city of COP26.

“I am delighted to announce our second ‘carbon-free beef restaurant’, all our future new openings will serve only carbon-neutral beef and, as of January 2022, all our 20 restaurants will boast a carbon-neutral steak and wine offering, which sits alongside our zero food waste and green energy policies.”

He added: “We created the Sustainable Steak Movement, to highlight steak restaurants whose beef offering comes from sustainable farms which have outstanding husbandry and animal welfare in their DNA and whom have reduced methane and greenhouse gasses at source, encouraged sequestration and committed to calculate and offset any carbon emissions.

“We must stop eating intensively reared, poor-quality meats and support responsible restaurateurs committed to regenerative farming and providing an ethical, guilt-free beef offering on menus. I hope today’s launch will see many restaurant groups join us in this undertaking.”