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Maria
Antunes
Curious, creative and passionate. Always searching for a way to go further, pushing the limits and questioning the status quo. Background in tourism, hospitality and culture.
PROJECT
Kitchen Dates is the first zero-waste restaurant in Portugal (one of a few in the world). Everything coming through the door must be consumed, upcycled or composted. For that, we have a composting machine that turns all organic waste into compost that we give back to our farmers in a circular economy model. Besides, we use only organic, seasonal, plant-based and 100% local ingredients – we have a 50 km radius for fresh produce and 500 km radius for dry goods. One of our main goals is to measure the actual carbon footprint and food waste of our operation, by means of developing a software that can provided an integrated analysis of these two metrics. This will be a powerful tool to show the impact of our food choices and inspire more people to eat according to the principles championed at Kitchen Dates – which have been proven to be the most sustainable in the long run.
Kitchen Dates started out of curiosity about our broken food system – in particular one food item, bread. Going down the rabbit hole, it soon became a project centred in the ideas of sharing meals, knowledge and a more sustainable and conscious way of living. Opening the first zero-waste restaurant in Portugal has been a huge milestone, but we want it to be a lot more than just a restaurant. It should be a guiding light in all matters related to agriculture, food production, waste and climate change, and a place for reflection and discussion beyond its physical walls.
MOTIVATION FOR AND COMMITMENT TO CREATING A BETTER AND MORE SUSTAINABLE PLANET
With Kitchen Dates, I have been 100% focused on creating a more conscious, sustainable and healthy world – one meal at a time. This is at the core of who I am as a person and fully relates to my concerns and beliefs about our place in the world.
