Want to know what it means to run a sustainable restaurant? Watch as we spend some time with Luke Grant and Jessica Shepherd at The Table at De Meye in Stellenbosch, the first-ever winner of the Eat Out Woolworths Sustainability Award, and feast your eyes on some of their inventive and delicious seasonal dishes.

Restaurants across the country were invited to enter this industry-first award by submitting a detailed form about their ingredient sourcing, own-grown produce, environmental and community impact, and staff development. The very stringent judging process included visits to supplier farms and verification of claims by the panel of judges: Eat Out editor Abigail Donnelly, Pavitray Pillay of WWF-SASSI, Lynsay Sampson of Fairtrade South Africa, Sonia Mountford of Eategrity and Karen Welter of the Longtable Project. (Read more about the criteria here.)

The unique touch of The Table at De Meye. Photo supplied.

Luke and Jessica go out of their way to use sustainable ingredients and support local producers. They impressed the judges with their transparency about the origins of their ingredients, whose stories are shared with customers dining at the country-style restaurant. Visitors to The Table are also invited to walk through the garden that inspires the menu each day.