Nolla, which means ‘zero’ in Finnish, is the first restaurant in the Nordic countries to be one hundred per cent zero waste, from the menu right down to their gift cards.
Nolla opened in Helsinki in 2019, in the trendy Punavuori Design District of Helsinki. The concept of Nolla was brought about by three leading chefs, Albert Franch Sunyer, Carlos Henriques and Luka Balac, who decided that the restaurant industry needed to change, citing excessive food waste and plastic packaging. The restaurant delivers on its zero-waste promise in every aspect, from its policy of no single-use plastics, to staff uniforms being made of recycled products. All ingredients used at Nolla are, naturally, sourced from local farmers and suppliers, and to further maximise the positive environmental impact and eliminate waste, the same boxes are used to transport meat, fish and vegetables back and forth.
Similarly, the menu is solely decided based on seasonal produce. Nolla’s Head Chefs collaborate closely with their suppliers to find out exactly what is in season and which products are readily available out on the fields, which they then use to shape the menu. They aim to use every part of a product in increasingly inventive ways, however anything that can’t be used, such as egg shells, vegetable peels or even small bones are composted using an onsite machine which turns waste into fertiliser in just 24 hours. This fertiliser is then given back to farmers so the cycle can continue. In utilising every part of an ingredient, the chefs often need to think outside the box, sometimes drying, fermenting or curing it to create a sauce, rub or paste.
According to its founders, there was a strong expectation that Nolla would be an expensive enterprise to maintain, despite the recycling and composting taking place in house. Although costs are reduced by using all parts of a product, it can be costly and difficult to find farmers who don’t use packaging, and this also applies to staff uniforms, cleaning products for the restaurant and every other item required to run such a venture. However, Nolla is not unreasonably priced. Starters cost around €14, while mains begin at €25 for the delectable Salt Baked Rutabaga with Lion’s Mane Mushrooms, however the menu is constantly changing. November’s menu included dishes such as smoked mussels with kale salsa, catch of the day with seaweed butter sauce and a dessert of basil ice cream, poached pears and lemon meringue.
The seasonal Chef’s Choice menu costs €54 and consists of two starters, a main course and a dessert. There is no price that can be put on extremely high quality, artistically prepared dishes which also positively impacting the environment, and Nolla’s are far from expensive. Nolla’s zero-waste promise doesn’t stop with the food, but stretches to the drinks too. Attached to the restaurant is a 20-seat bar and microbrewery, selling homemade, biodynamic beer and organic wines.
All three founding chefs agree that Nolla is not simply a restaurant designed to reduce waste, but an example which other restaurants, industries and even countries can follow and take inspiration from. When reducing waste at their restaurant, food is not simply thrown into the composter. Each waste product is carefully weighed and analysed using software, to determine exactly what has been thrown away, why and by whom to ensure they adapt and improve in future. Guests are so keen on Nolla that they now sell gift cards, which unsurprisingly are made from biodegradable paper embedded with poppy seeds, allowing visitors to plant their grow a stunning flower in their own home.
