Palm oil

We believe we're on the cusp of becoming the UK's first palm oil free venue. Having made hugely encouraging strides, recent changes from the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) have made it difficult for any business to become 100% palm oil free. For now, products are no longer required to list palm oil in their labelling as a substitute for sunflower oil, making it increasingly difficult to identify. However, the government has since confirmed this to be a temporary change to ease current supply chain issues. We look forward to when this change is reversed.

The positive news is that we've come a very long way in eradicating palm oil from a huge number of our products. And in March 2023, we hosted our first 100% palm oil free event. In partnership with sustainable catering specialists, Boulevard Events, we served an elegant selection of palm oil free canapés and dishes. With our bespoke fine dining packages, planners can create palm oil free menus for award ceremonies and corporate dining events.

Our palm oil initiatives

• We conducted a full audit of the products that we and our suppliers use, allowing us to identify those that include palm oil.
• We've sent out declaration letters to all suppliers we identified using palm oil to discuss alternatives that could be used instead.
• Suitable alternatives for each product have been researched and implemented, such as various food and cleaning products.
• We buy all of our own products for our cleaning contractors to use so that we can have full control over what is in them.
• We routinely conduct research into new palm oil-free products and liaise with these suppliers about how we can utilise them effectively.
• We sourced a new caterer to ensure our fine dining offering would be 100% palm oil free. With fairtrade caterers Boulevard Events, we created a palm oil free selection of canapés and dishes.

Find out more about our campaign against the palm oil problem.