Gaucho restaurant group responds to ‘greenwashing’ allegations

Gaucho has responded to accusations of ‘greenwashing’ after a charity claimed the steakhouse group has failed to pay a £60,000 invoice for carbon offsetting.

 

Anti-slavery charity Not For Sale, which provides housing, scholarships and training to victims and those at risk of human trafficking, told The Times it was owed the funds for work in 2024.

 

The charity said it sent Gaucho an invoice in April and, after repeated requests for payment, was told the group was ending its association with Not For Sale under its new leadership team.

 

The email, seen by The Times, said: “As a result of this review, we have decided to focus our funds and activities in other areas and therefore we will not be making a donation to Not For Sale this year and instead will pursue a different carbon strategy.

 

“We will continue to review the right way forward and may well decide to come back to you in the future, but for the moment have decided to press pause on this route.”

 

Baton Berisha, formerly of the Ivy Collection and Wolseley Hospitality Group, took over as chief executive of Gaucho’s parent company Rare Restaurants in March after the departure of long-time leader Martin Williams.

 

Gaucho, which has 20 Argentine steak restaurants across the UK, including 12 in London, made a push to focus on sustainability during Williams’ seven-year tenure. In 2019, it began serving ‘carbon-neutral’ beef where the methane and CO2 imprint was offset by planting trees in South America and investing in green power.

 

This saw it plant more than 4,000 trees in partnership with Not For Sale in 2021.

 

However, it now looks to be shifting its focus. Gaucho’s dedicated sustainability operations manager Alyson Parkes left the business in August, but The Caterer understands her responsibilities are now being picked up by other team members.

 

Gaucho has said it was not aware of any formal arrangement with Not For Sale and claimed the charity had a personal relationship with Williams pre-dating Berisha’s appointment.

 

However, Not For Sale told The Caterer it had worked with the group for nearly a decade and had a formal partnership with its parent company Rare Restaurants. Regular payments were made over several years until 2024 when the account came due.

 

David Batstone, co-founder and president of Not For Sale, said: “This isn’t simply a contractual issue, it is a moral one. Gaucho built a public narrative around their partnership with Not For Sale, linking their dining experience to the protection of the planet and the fight against exploitation. To withdraw funding after promoting that partnership to customers undermines the integrity of purpose-driven business. We hope Gaucho will reconsider, make good on their promise, and ensure their actions reflect the values they claim to uphold.” 

 

Gaucho’s website still features details of its work with Not For Sale and says it was awarded a two-star rating from the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) last year.

 

However, a spokesperson for the SRA said its relationship with Gaucho ended in November 2024 and the two-star rating was no longer valid.

 

The SRA spokesperson added: “Since then, we have contacted their marketing team numerous times to ask them to remove all references to Food Made Good. This process seems to be under way as of yesterday but has still not been completed.” 

 

Last month Gaucho denied reports it had cut the share of service charge given to waiters in order to boost head office pay. The restaurant group said the fee would instead be distributed across 31 different roles within restaurant teams, and head office staff would not benefit.