Westminster City Council has launched a new pilot scheme aimed at discovering the threats that might be posed by cooking practices in restaurant kitchens and what might be done to mitigate them.
Five restaurants are already signed up to the scheme and others are being encouraged to join.
The council is an official supporter of the Global Cooksafe Coalition which was launched in Australia in 2022 and in the UK in 2024. The coalition aims to transition kitchens – both commercial and domestic – towards safe, sustainable cooking.
Commercial cooking is the third-largest single source of PM2.5 emissions in London and is estimated to account for 59% of total emissions. These emissions originate from both fuel – such as charcoal, wood and gas – and food preparation methods like frying and grilling.
To address this, Westminster City Council is trialling a new air purification system in five local restaurants to assess its effectiveness in reducing PM2.5 emissions and improving indoor and outdoor air quality. Air quality monitors will also be installed to measure the effectiveness of the system.
The council see the trial as a providing valuable data on how restaurant emissions contribute to pollution across the city, which the will share with the businesses.
The project will cost the restaurants nothing and will involve no greater inconvenience than the installation, which will take around an hour. The project is scheduled to last for three months.
In a recent study by Zehnder Group UK, members of the public were giving air quality monitors to record the effect of their every day activities on their environment. One participant, who recorded consistently low levels of PM2.5 throughout the study, saw levels peak at 68µg/m³ when cooking an omelette and using the grill once. This figure is over three times higher than those recorded by a London roadside.
Mayfair restaurant, Apricity, is one of the restaurants piloting the technology. Head chef Eve Seemann said: ‘It’s important research in terms of health for myself and the staff, as well as anyone visiting Mayfair and central London.
‘Although our style of cooking may not be as polluting as others, it’s important to see what areas we could improve in. This data will allow us to see when there’s a peak, what caused that peak and what we can do to try and remedy it. I’m glad we are part of finding a solution to reduce air pollution.’
Cllr Geoff Barraclough, Westminster City Council Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development, said: ‘These emissions from commercial cooking present a significant air quality and public health challenge in Westminster. What we learn from this pilot could help us shape future policies and ensure cleaner air for all those who live, work and visit the city.
‘We want this pilot to raise awareness of air quality issues within the industry, and I hope it encourages other businesses to sign up to participate in the trial. I’m proud that we’re leading the way testing innovative solutions to make sure our communities can live in a greener, more sustainable Fairer Environment.’
Dr Philip Webb, Chief Executive Officer at Health and Wellbeing 360 Ltd, said: ‘Not only will monitoring indoor environmental quality and outdoor air quality provide important data on pollutants and toxins in a real world setting such as kitchens in local restaurants based in community settings, it will give us insights into the health and wellbeing impacts of these types of emissions indoors and outdoors and, importantly, we will be able to assess the effectiveness of interventions such as ventilation, filtration and purification.
‘It also demonstrates Westminster Council leading the way on innovation in this sector and highlights the role of appropriate technology in identifying risks and mitigation strategies to help protect the health and wellbeing of local communities now and for future generations.’
Any restaurants in the are interested in taking part can register their interest here.
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