Food for thought

Zoos Victoria’s revamped food menus champion local producers while putting sustainability and plant-based eating in the spotlight.

WORDS Jo Stewart

he next time you visit one of the three Zoo properties be sure to pack your appetite. A refreshed menu filled with healthy and tasty options is now on offer with single-use, Tplastic-free packaging ensuring that the environmental impact of your meal is greatly reduced.

As Zoos Victoria’s Head of Food and Beverage, David Martin oversees the variety of foods on offer at the cafes,

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restaurants and kiosks of Healesville Sanctuary, Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo. A trained chef with 35 years’ experience, David explains that menu items are selected to reflect seasonality, sustainability and the shifting tastes of members and visitors.

“Our menus are reviewed every quarter and are refreshed to reflect the season. When creating new menus, we look at the sales history as well as member feedback. Our members have a big say about what goes on the menu,” says David.

With each property having its own unique personality and flavour, David was keen to keep regional specialities on the menu (“Werribee makes a mean tagine,” he notes) while also reflecting changing tastes and values, such as the introduction of more plantbased options and a commitment to eliminating plastic waste.

“Zoo favourites like burgers and chips are still on the menu, but we’ve added more healthy options like fresh salads and wellness bowls.”

Sustainable eats

You may fly less, cycle more and save water at home, but did you know that your diet can dramatically impact your carbon footprint?

The production, transportation and disposal of food (and its packaging) results in a large amount of carbon emissions and water wastage. Thankfully, this is one area we can all make changes for the better with just a few tweaks to what we put on our plate.

To help reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill, Zoos Victoria has removed all single-use plastics from its food outlets across all three properties.

“We’ve eradicated all single-use plastics. Our food packaging is now eco-friendly and biodegradable. There’s no bottled water available for sale on site. You can buy water in recyclable aluminium cans and we’ve got public access drinking-water stations and compostable BioCups available throughout the Zoos. Even the tickets in our deli display cabinets aren’t laminated,” explains David.

Most of the fresh fruit and vegetables on the menu are sourced from Victoria to both support local producers and reduce food miles associated with transporting foods from faraway places. To lessen impacts on wild fish populations, only sustainably caught seafood such as farmed barramundi appears on the menu.

“Supporting Australian farmers and producers is a key part of what we do, so we source our produce from local suppliers as much as possible. For example, we only use chips made from Australian potatoes. We sell 55,000 kilos of chips a year across the three properties. Sure, we can get a cheaper chip from overseas, but our mandate is to only use Australian potatoes,” says David.

“We’ve eradicated all single-use plastics. Our food packaging is now eco-friendly and biodegradable.”

Plant power

From plant-based loaded fries to meat-free burgers, the next time you visit us, you’ll also notice plenty of vegetarian options on the menu.

David explains that plant-based foods naturally have a lower carbon footprint than meat, but the inclusion of more vegan and vegetarian options was also driven by member and visitor demand for more meat-free meals.

Feedback from members also indicated a desire for healthier, lighter options to complement the fastfood classics.

“Zoo favourites like burgers and chips are still on the menu, but we’ve added more healthy options like fresh salads and wellness bowls,” says David, who adds that Healesville Sanctuary is especially well-placed to source incredible local produce.

“Healesville does really beautiful, fresh, seasonal food. They draw on the local produce as much as possible. It’s a real advantage to be in such a food-production hotspot as the Yarra Valley region.” ZN

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