Raymond Blanc asks businesses to turn off their lights

Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc has called for restaurants and hotels to join the OXO Tower, the Savoy hotel and the Red Carnation Hotels group in a pledge to turn off their lights on 19 March as part of Earth Hour.

In the initiative from the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) and the WWF, the groups will join a host of restaurants, gastropubs and fine dining hotels in lighting their sites by candlelight for one hour from 8.30pm, in a bid to highlight the need to save energy, celebrate the Earth's resources, and highlight how food can impact the health of our planet.

River Cottage will also take part, while Daylesford in the Cotswolds and Battlesteads in Northumberland will both also invite guests to use the darkness to their advantage, by doing some star-gazing.

Some sites will be offering a special Earth House menu and dishes, and raising money for WWF. The event forms part of the SRA's Food Made Good ethical eating campaign.

Blanc, president of the SRA and owner of Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire, said: "Thousands of restaurants, from Michelin-star to fish and chips shops, are among those working with Food Made Good, demonstrating that good food can be produced sustainably. I'm extremely proud that many of these restaurants will be switching off their lights for WWF's Earth Hour to showcase how easy it is to cook some delicious food that's good for you and the planet, while reminding us that together we have the power to make change happen."

Participating restaurants will receive a pack of resources to help them promote the event to customers, and all sites will be featured on the SRA and WWF websites.

Last year saw over nine million people take part in the environmental event, including 1,000 businesses and 4,600 schools. Many major landmarks also take part by turning off their lights at the same time, including Big Ben, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, the Cardiff Senedd, and the Glasgow City Chambers.

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