Eco Sark is first Channel Island awarded highest ratings from Sustainable Restaurant Association

THREE HOTELS on the tiny Channel Island of Sark have each been awarded three stars from the Sustainable Restaurant Association – the first time their restaurants applied for membership.

The SRA said La Moinerie Hotel, the Hotel Petit Champ and the Aval du Creux Hotel – scooped its highest star ratings because of their recycling initiatives and year-round use of seasonal produce for their menus.

Hotel guests on Sark can now claim to have the lowest carbon footprints in the Channel Islands – and some of the lowest in Europe.

There are no cars on Sark so horses and carriages and bicycles are the normal modes of transport. There are no streetlights and virtually zero pollution – and Sark became the world's first Dark Sky island in 2011.


An island garden for chefs
Chefs within the Sark Island Hotels group – owned by Sark Estate Management – can source an abundance of ingredients from an island that is three miles by one-and-a-half miles in size.

SEM's own kitchen gardens and greenhouses supply a wide range of summer seasonal vegetables and salad varieties. Honey is harvested from its beehives in the newly-planted apple orchards, while fresh bread comes from its own bakery, the Victor Hugo Boulangerie.

Fresh hand-dived scallops, turbot, brill, red mullet, Dover sole, crab, seabass and lobster are supplied to the hotels by local fishermen. And the first wine from Sark's new vineyards was made in December 2011. This was recently given the thumbs up by globally celebrated wine expert Oz Clarke – click here to watch Clarke's Taste of Sark video.

The Sustainable Restaurant Association awarded SEM 100% in three categories, including its waste management initiatives, sourcing of local produce and its efficient use of energy.

Sark Estate Management has invested in state-of-the-art tools that turn vegetable oil into bio-diesel for the hotels' tractor, vegetable waste into compost and sewage water into Grade A river water. Glass bottle crushers are already in use.

Kevin Delaney, managing director of Sark Estate Management, said: "To have the first restaurants in the Channel Islands to receive three-star ratings from the Sustainable Restaurant Association is tremendous for everyone who has worked so hard on our green initiatives, and we'll be looking for the same when our fourth hotel, The Dixcart Bay, opens on May 1st."

Horses gear up to recycle
Hendrik Lessing, SEM's green ambassador, has implemented almost 80 different initiatives over the past six months but has identified more.

"From 2012, we'll be working with local horse and carriage drivers to deliver our food and drink supplies to Sark Island Hotels," he said. "Horses will play a huge part in taking most of our non-recyclable waste to the island's port – this will then be shipped by SEM to France and be disposed of responsibly."

A Naturally Sark range of products will also be offered on Sark this year. The first will be bottled water – also available at Sark Island Hotels – plus paper briquettes and kiln charcoal for fuel, chutneys, pickles and jams.


Notes from a small island

Sark is three miles by one mile in size, and in distance it is eight miles from Guernsey and 20 miles from Normandy

Sark is less than three hours from Central London and most UK airports. Airlines including Flybe, Aurigny and Blue Islands fly to Guernsey – it's then an 8-mile ferry ride with Isle of Sark Shipping

A three-star rating is the highest rating awarded by the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

Hotels in the Sark Island Hotels portfolio are:

Aval du Creux offers an outstanding hotel experience with heated outdoor pool and ideally located for shopping in The Avenue
(www.avalducreux.com)

La Moinerie is a beautifully restored old Sark farm on the site of a medieval monastery. La Moinerie is located close to the newly discovered West Side Walks, vineyards and stunning coastal views
(www.lamoineriehotel.com)

Hotel Petit Champ is a quaint 10-bedroom hotel with a pool and was recently awarded 2 AA Rosettes for its consistent delivery of outstanding food and hospitality
(www.hotelpetitchamp.com)

The Dixcart Bay Hotel is Sark's oldest hotel and ideally situated close to Sark's new vineyards and a woodland walk to the beach. Classically restored to its former glory, the Dixcart is a one-time favourite of French writer Victor Hugo. It reopens in May 2012 and is now taking bookings for weddings, vineyard tours, weekend island breaks as well as corporate entertainment.
(www.dixcarthotel.com)

Media enquiries:
High resolution images of Sark available immediately from Costello Media. Email info@costellomedia.co.uk

For more information about Sark please visit www.welcometosark.com and www.sarkislandhotels.com