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Solar restaurant by Le Présage

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Pitch

A delightful restaurant powered with concentrated sunlight, biogaz, surrounded by edible forest : abundance in a post fossil fuel future


Description

Summary

Food-systems, from producing to transforming, are playing a major role in the global greenhouse gas emission. Not only it causes damages to ecosystem, it also need tremendous amount of energy for the transport and the transformation of food.

The solar restaurant project « Le Présage » aims at targeting this issues by being the first solar powered restaurant of France, Europe, and thus at demonstrating the viability of solar cooking for catering business in a developed country like France.

This project not only aims at running a restaurant with solar energy but also at integrating it in a living ecosystem with gardening and integrated waste management (biogas digester, phyto-epuration…) as well as other technologies like solar drying or solar cooling in order to ask our guest what is the true meaning of food, how it is produced and transformed.

Through the simple but delightful experience of a meal, this project set the trend for a new model of sustainable food-systems.

A short video by the founder of the project is available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnghjZKMk0c

Here is the website (in french) of our project :

http://restaurantlepresage.fr


Is this proposal for a practice or a project?

Project


What actions do you propose?

We plan to set up the first solar restaurant in Europe, that runs only on local and renewable energy (primarily solar, but also biogas), that has a on site waste-management plan and that is installed within a edible forest : a virtuous way of producing, transforming and recycling food.

The technologies used are partially developed, notably the solar stove and the biogas.

The water mangement is done trhough ecological plant filters to retain as long as possible the water on site.

We will also document the project so that it could be dupplicate anywhere.


Who will take these actions?

The company behind the project will be the main actor, backed by the city of Marseille who is providing the site to set up the restaurant.

A strong  community (1000+) has gathered around the project, ready to help.


Where will these actions be taken?

The first pilot restaurant will be set up in Marseille, France, Europe. It is important to set it up in a developed country where these technologies are still regarded as mistrustful in order to set a trend that will not only changed the way we look at solar cooking by the way with produce, transformed and manage the waste of the whole food chain.

 


In addition, specify the country or countries where these actions will be taken.

France


Country 2

No country selected


Country 3

No country selected


Country 4

No country selected


Country 5

No country selected


Impact/Benefits


What impact will these actions have on greenhouse gas emissions and/or adapting to climate change?

It is the equivalent of 55 meals a day, 220 ddays per year, that would otherwise be produced with fossil fuel.

The edible forest is also a trap for carbon, as it will fixe down the soil the carbon contain in the air. It is about setting a virtous circle that we will investigate.

 


What are other key benefits?

It will create sustainable jobs.

It will also be a place for teaching youngster about those new technologies and the way an edible forest sustaine itself.

Moreover it will be a way to shift mentality trough a simple meal, which is one of the most powerfull way to change things.


Costs/Challenges


What are the proposal’s projected costs?

We have set up a business plan that shows we'll have benefit from year 4 onwards but there is an investment of nearly 800 000€

 


Timeline

The restaurant will start serving its first meal on March 2019 and the next 3 years will be to consolidate the model.

Then it will be time to duplicate the concept all over!


About the author(s)

After being graduated in aerospace engineering and working in this field for 5 years in France and abroad, notably 2 years in India, the author decided in 2010 to give a new orientation to his career, starting over as a craftsman by getting a professional culinary degree and working as a cook since.

By learning the way cooks do cook in professional restaurants and thanks to a natural curiosity, the author looked at the already existing solar cooking systems but could not find what he was looking for as a cook. He therefore decided to build this new solar stove that would power his kitchen. And thus begin the solar restaurant project “Le Présage”.

 


Related Proposals

Heliac solar cooker

 


References