Frequently asked questions
A.K.A. ‘NOBODY ASKED, WE JUST THINK YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS ABOUT MY TREATS’
Okay. First question: Why?
Have you seen what these restaurants are doing? More people should know about this! Look, if you asked us to hot glue a vision board together, our goal would be simple: have a positive impact by inspiring as many people as possible to eat tasty, healthy, and sustainable. That’s why My Treats includes both street food and fine dining. And everything in between.
Why are you guys called My Treats? Candy is a treat. Or cake. That’s not conscious.
True! So true. But when coming up with our name, we found the official definition of a treat, which got us thinking: a treat is ‘an event or item that is out of the ordinary and gives great pleasure.
And you know what; that perfectly describes what all our restaurants offer! We hope to broaden the perception of what a true treat should be.
For it to include something damn delicious, that’s made with care and lots of good ingredients.
How do you validate the restaurants listed on My Treats?
It’s this ground-breaking technique we use. We go in, have the food, and talk to the chefs! When a restaurant is listed in the My Treats app, we did a deep dive into their menu choices, their suppliers, and things like waste policies. When a venue meets our list of base criteria, they’ve made the cut! Some of these places are the best of the best when it comes to conscious cooking. But we also love to support those who are on the right track. Every big step forward starts with small changes. Are they all perfect? No. But who is?
Are all restaurants on My Treats vegan or vegetarian?
No,My Treats also features restaurants that offer sustainable meat or fish. We want to help as many people as possible in their search for better food. Whether they’re vegan, vegetarian, or responsible meat or fish lovers. Of course, going vegan or vegetarian is a great way to contribute to a better world. But it’s not the only way
How does your algorithm work?
We prefer to feed people instead of an algorithm. And therefore, we put you in charge. By adding your preferences on sustainability and healthy eating, you get recommended places that match your cravings. And that’s it! We don’t push mediocre restaurants because they paid for a promotion. We don’t rank venues based on the height of their fee, because they don’t pay any. And we won’t be selling your data to 3rd parties. Doing these things would make our restaurant recommendations less valuable for you. And why would we want to do that?
Do restaurants pay to get featured?
Nope. Some asked us if they could, but we prefer them not to. We want to act and select independently, so we never have to compromise our standards and ideals. All the restaurants on My Treats grabbed our attention by being so. d*mn. good. We experienced it first-hand. We had their food (and licked the plate), loved their story, and decided you just HAD to try this as well. Restaurant owners can add their place as well. These are labelled ‘Treats-to-be’ until they are verified by us or the My Treats community.
What do you consider conscious, healthy and sustainable?
We know the definitions and standards for these words vary between one person and another. While we aren’t an Oxford Dictionary, we worked hard on defining what these words mean to us as well. So, here you are:
- CONSCIOUS cooking is making deliberate choices to positively impact others and the world around us.
- HEALTHY eating translates to ensuring mostly unrefined whole foods, offering loads of vegetables, using no refined sugars, and choosing organic ingredients.
- SUSTAINABLE food has low or no negative impact on the environment. Sustainable choices include buying seasonal and local, working circular, rethinking the use of meat and fish, and many more.
How do you rate restaurants?
We assess restaurants base on public sources, our own assessment, as well as recognized experts and audit partners. This results in our Impact Score, ranging from 1 to 5 planets.
During our assessment, we specifically focus on 6 core impact dimensions:
- Direct sourcing
- Seasonal products
- Waste avoidance
- Sustainable animal products
- Social impact
- Plants forward
The higher the engagement from the restaurant, together with substantiation and proof, the higher his Impact Score.
Our Impact Score level is explained below:
🌎 Starting: typically scouted by the My Treats team or community, shows good intention.
🌎🌎 Engaged: clearly communicates about it and shares suppliers.
🌎🌎🌎 Endorsed by My Treats (scores min. 40 points on our impact assessment), or is endorsed by another Top Treats chef (having minimum 4 planets).
🌎🌎🌎🌎 Recognized by My Treats (scores min. 65 points on our impact assessment), or by a recognized sustainability platform.
🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎 Outstanding: on top of “Recognized”, has proven (audited) impact.
Treat-level restaurants have 1 to 3 planets. They range from starting intentions to being recognized by established and credible guides.
Top Treat-level restaurants score 4 or 5 planets. They have a highly positive impact, as well as a high level of credibility. To obtain the 5th planet, they must have been audited by a recognized external party.