site.btaBulgarian Restaurant Receives Green Key Certificate for Environmental Sustainability

The Dieci boutique restaurant has received a Green Key certificate for environmentally friendly and responsible tourism businesses with concern for the environment and society that achieve significant savings by reducing the resources used, water and energy consumed, as well as by prudent waste management, the Bulgarian Blue Flag movement said on Wednesday. With this, the restaurant became the first to win the prestigious certificate not only in Bulgaria, but also in Eastern Europe.

The restaurant is housed in a former school in the village of Devino, North Eastern Bulgaria, with improved energy efficiency. All traditional elements have been preserved, old furniture and tools have been restored and displayed, and all materials used are organic. The restaurant's location provides game, truffles and other food treasures for the innovative cuisine it offers its guests. It also puts its patrons in touch with nature, which is an important requirement of the Green Key programme.

Dieci owners Chef Gianfranco Chiarini and Chef Anna Chiarini start their day by sourcing produce. In addition to the opportunities offered by the surrounding forests, they have a vegetable and fruit garden where they grow their own vegetables, fruits and herbs. This is one of Green Key's recommended requirements.

Dieci also has its own fermentation rooms, aging rooms, and hives for producing its own organic honey with no added sugar.

An essential element of the sustainability philosophy is the fact that all electricity and water on site is provided by photovoltaic panels (22 in total) and a well that reaches 63 metres deep. This ensures not only energy efficiency but also energy independence. The Green Key programme requires serious management of energy and water consumption, and Dieci has even built on this, the movement writes.

Throughout food preparation, each material of paper, plastic, metal or glass is collected separately for future processing in their own recycling centre. All food scraps are placed in an electronic food composter, which in 10 hours turns all organic food waste into a useful organic compost that resembles soil.

Restaurant guests can see all the recycling processes during a short tour before dinner.

With some of the recycled materials, the owners make handmade souvenirs, the proceeds of which go to pay local people to clean the village and surrounding forests of plastic, glass, metal and paper, providing it to Dieci's recycling centre for processing. 

This not only helps the local community, but also educates them to think environmentally, not to pollute, and to separate waste.