Regenerative Futures: What's cooking at CSM

Join Maison/0 for an exclusive takeover at CSM canteen! 🌱

What does regenerative design actually taste like? On 3 November, the CSM canteen is hosting Food for Regenerative Futures, an exclusive food takeover marking the relaunch of Maison/0 - the creative partnership between Central Saint Martins and LVMH for regenerative luxury to empower emerging talents to design a better future.

Running alongside the Regenerative Futures panel talk, this collaboration takes sustainability out of lecture halls and straight onto your lunch plate.

Credit: Cover image 'Decaying Conversations with Machines on Human life' - Sachi Patil, MA Graphic Communication Design, 2021

Why food? 

Food is one of the most direct ways we interact with the world. When we talk about biodiversity, circular design and regeneration, what we put on our plate matters. 

Rather than viewing sustainability as a set of rules, this takeover treats food as a creative medium, showing how regenerative farming, low-waste cooking and seasonal sourcing can build healthier ecosystems from the soil up.

What to expect

A French-inspired menu reimagined through a contemporary, playful CSM lens. It's plant-forward, flavour-first and designed with root-to-stem circularity in mind: 

🧑‍🍳 Live Café Bar experience

• 9-11am: French toast made to order served with Chantilly cream
• 2:30-4:30pm: Crêpes made with regenerative flour and seasonal British fruit toppings

Toppings for both include: British blackberries, apple and cinnamon, or salted caramel and Fairtrade banana. 

We'll also have a selection of sweet treats available throughout the day, from mini pâtisseries, profiteroles and chocolate éclairs to macarons and mille-feuille.

✨ Premium French dishes

• Provençal salmon: Served with golden noisette potatoes, petits pois à la française, broad beans, baby gem lettuce, and fresh sauce vierge.
• Caramelised onion tatin (vegan): Slow-caramelised WasteKnot onions with thyme and balsamic vinegar, baked beneath crisp puff pastry.

🫘 Comforting canteen specials

• Market Garden butter bean cassoulet: Packed with butter beans, seasonal WasteKnot root vegetables, mushrooms, and a homemade basil pistou.
• Jacket potatoes: Dyson Farming potatoes served with either a creamy mushroom sauce or melted Barber's Raclette cheese.
• Soup station: A creamy mushroom velouté infused with garlic and fresh thyme, finished with regenerative oat milk.
• French vegan sausage rolls

🍄‍🟫 Bistro and street food favourites

• Wildfarmed croque monsieur: Made with Wildfarmed regenerative bread, Mornay sauce, Dijon mustard, and Barber's cheese. Choose between Brie, Onion & Rocket or Turkey & Barber's Cheese, served with a chef's salad or skin-on French fries.
• Moules Marinière: Fresh mussels in a white wine, butter, garlic, shallot, and parsley broth.
• Street food classics: Marinated Halal chicken legs and wings, house-made pork sausage rolls, and skin-on French fries.
• Salad bar: Six signature salads featuring a colourful selection of seasonal root vegetables, beetroot, leafy greens, and pulses with house-made dressings.

🌱 Circular bites

Look out for zero-waste touches throughout the menu like herb stems blended into fresh sauces and used espresso grounds that have been given a second life in our homemade bakes. 

The stories behind your plate

Every dish on the counter spotlights our partners who are actively reshaping food systems: 

• Wildfarmed: Supporting regenerative farming practices that restore soil health, encourage biodiversity and produce high-quality, nutrient-dense food. 
• Waste Knot: Fresh and delicious farm-surplus fruits and vegetables rescued to help reduce food waste. 
• Dyson Farming: British-grown potatoes produced through regenerative farming that prioritises soil health, efficient food production and long-term environmental stewardship. 
• Beans is How: A global push to champion beans and legumes as sustainable and nutritious ingredients that help create lower-impact menus to support people and the planet. 
• CSM Terrace Garden: Fresh herbs picked directly from our own rooftop garden in the College, bringing provenance even closer to your plate. 

Beyond the event

This takeover isn't just a one-off experiment. We hold both the Gold Food for Life Catering Mark and Green Kitchen Standard award, meaning seasonal, ethical and high-welfare sourcing is already built into our everyday menus across campus.

We buy from local suppliers wherever possible, from using Wildfarmed flour in our breads and bakes to Waste Knot fruit and veg in our food and mood salad bars and soups. Find out more about sustainability in our canteens and cafés and where our food comes from...

Join us on 3 November at the CSM canteen to discover how food can help shape more regenerative futures.

Contact: 

Follow us @ualcatering for more updates.