Morton Out to Prove He’s Salt of the Earth

Peter Morton doesn’t necessarily want to save the world--but he wouldn’t mind helping save the planet. The Los Angeles-based restaurateur--who owns Morton’s and the Hard Rock Cafe here and additional Hard Rocks in San Diego, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Honolulu, New Orleans and Sydney, Australia (with yet another in the works in Las Vegas)--has even established a Save the Planet Department in the corporate offices of his 1,600-employee company.

And what does this department do? “It coordinates and undertakes activities that will help the environment,” says Morton. For instance? “To begin with,” he replies, “we recycle every bottle that comes into our properties--beer bottles, wine bottles, Coke bottles. We recycle all our cardboard. We have discontinued the use of Styrofoam, and buy only line-caught albacore tuna (nets are undesirable because they trap and kill dolphins along with tuna). Any money we earn from recycling, we give to local charities. Besides that, we donate any extra food we have to the local missions on both a daily and a weekly basis in all Hard Rock cities. We hold benefits to raise funds for the Natural Resources Defense Council. We put out a newsletter for all our employees, telling them what they can do personally--like recycling paper at the office, not throwing their newspapers out at home, and getting rid of fluorocarbon products.”

In addition, his company has started using a biodegradable plastic bag to package the immensely popular Hard Rock Cafe T-shirts the restaurants sell--some six to seven million of them a year, he adds.

“We didn’t suddenly start doing this since environmental issues have become rather fashionable,” Morton continues. “The phrase ‘Save the Planet’ has appeared above the Hard Rock logo for seven years, and we established our department two years ago.”

Of course some environmental issues are easier to face than others. “All the products at both Morton’s and the L.A. Hard Rock come from the Malibu Herb Farm,” says Morton, “and are pesticide-free. But California is always in the forefront of things like organic farms, and the same situation doesn’t necessarily exist everywhere. For the Hard Rock in New Orleans, it’s much tougher to think about using organic produce, because the community there just isn’t making the same kinds of demands on produce growers.” And what about the problems said to be caused by existing commercial refrigeration systems, which release Freon-12 into the atmosphere? “Well,” says Morton, “we’re looking into it. But it’s real tough to suddenly convert all your refrigeration to a new system.”

(Freon footnote: The Bruce Marder/Michel Richard/Marvin Zeidler Broadway Deli, scheduled to open next spring in Santa Monica, will reportedly be the first restaurant in the L.A. area with a Freon-12-free refrigeration system.)

What does Morton hope his Save the Planet Department will ultimately accomplish? “We’re just trying to be as socially responsible as we can,” he replies. “And we’re hoping to encourage other restaurateurs in the communities we serve to do some of the same things. If anybody’s interested, I wish they’d call me up. I’d have somebody from our department drive out there and show them how to do it.”

WHAT’S COOKING: Duplex in the Los Feliz district welcomes Groth Vineyards winemaker Nils Venge on Tuesday, with a four-course dinner accompanied by his wines. Cost is $65 per person, and the event begins at 7:30 p.m. . . . The American Institute of Wine & Food will hold an International Wine Auction Saturday night, at the Four Seasons Hotel--with a supper to be provided by chef/restaurateurs Evan Kleiman (the Angeli restaurants), Bruce Marder (West Beach Cafe, Rebecca’s, DC-3), Michael McCarty (Michael’s), Laurent Quenioux (Seventh Street Bistro), and Mauro Vincenti (Rex il Ristorante, Pazzia), among others. Admission to the event, which begins at 8:30 p.m., is $250 per person, with proceeds benefitting the AIWF. Among the items to be auctioned will be two magnums of 1961 Chateau Latour, a magnum of 1917 Chateau Palmer, and dinner for six at the home of Julia Child. . . . Indigo in Los Angeles plans a gala dinner and silent art auction to benefit two local AIDS care facilities next Sunday,. Tickets are $100 per person.