The Eden Project in Cornwall has regained the top spot in a table that rates family-friendly food offerings in visitor attractions across the UK.
The Out to Lunch campaign, from food and farming charity the Soil Association, asked undercover diners to assess the quality of food being served in a range of venues, from museums to theme parks.
Their findings will now be used to make tailored recommendations to a shortlist of 16 of the UK’s most popular visitor attractions, with a view to make what they serve more healthy, sustainable and family-friendly.
Eden scored consistently highly across all categories. Feedback from the campaign noted that food is cooked fresh and choices are generally healthy, including vegetables coming with almost every meal. The secret diners also loved seeing the locally sourced items on the menu.
This is the second time Eden has topped the table, having previously come in at the number one spot in 2016.
This year’s decision was made based on the food offering served on Eden’s Biome Kitchen summer menu, which included freshly-made street wraps and family-favourite pizzas.
Becky Fenner, Eden’s Hospitality Manager, said: “We are delighted to have come top of the Out to Lunch league table. The Eden Project’s mission centres around building relationships between people and the planet to demonstrate the power of working together for the benefit of all living things. Central to this is our food story.
“We explore ways to deliver Earth-friendly food at scale using a food system rather than a food product approach, finding ways of producing food in a regenerative system that is climate positive, increases biodiversity and enhances soil health. Healthy planet – healthy people.”
Soil Association Head of Food Policy, Rob Percival, said: “The Eden Project is proving that a great day out can come with healthy and sustainable food, and we congratulate them on winning back their position at the top of the Out to Lunch league table.
“Their achievement is particularly encouraging to see in the face of such challenging circumstances with all attractions battling with rising food prices and staff shortages, following Covid-19 closures.
“They are doing a fantastic job with local sourcing practices and we were delighted to see freshly cooked food and active encouragement for healthy and sustainable food choices.”
The good news for Eden comes as it launches its new menu for the winter season featuring a selection of warming and delicious dishes that offer something for all the family.
The new offerings aim to showcase plant-based whole food by including dishes such as butternut mac and cheese, spiced lentil and vegetable pie and a squash and chickpea curry.
Other tasty meals available are the classic margherita pizza and James Kittow’s award- winning sausages served with creamy kale mash.
A selection of sides available are Eden house slaw, spicy roasted cauliflower, garlic sourdough flatbread and halloumi nibbles.
For more information on the Soil Association and the Out to Lunch campaign see www.soilassociation.org.
