Why Does So Much Food Waste Happen in Restaurants?

In this, my final post in the series on the topic of reducing food waste in restaurant kitchens, I want to examine why there is so much waste of food in American restaurants today, and ways that consumers can help reduce this waste. There are a lot of reasons behind the colossal waste of food […]

Another Step for Reducing Waste in Restaurants: Cross-Utilization and Repurposing of Food

Cross-utilization and repurposing are two words that get used by chefs and cooks, but not so much anyone else, so let me first define them for you. Cross-utilization means using an ingredient, sauce, or condiment that is usually used for one or two specific dishes for another dish or two where, perhaps, they are not […]

The Next Step to Avoiding Food Waste in Restaurants: Utilizing Surplus

Sometimes, even though proper inventory and ordering procedures are followed, a restaurant will have a surplus of perishable ingredients. In these cases, there are a few things that a resourceful cook or chef can do to alleviate the problem before it becomes a case of unnecessary food waste. (Sometimes, it isn’t an accidental overstock that […]

The First Step To Avoiding Food Waste: Efficient Storeroom Procedures

There is a mantra that every chef knows and drills into the heads of every prep and line cook: “First In, First Out.” Abbreviated to FIFO, this simple principle is at the core of avoiding food loss and waste in a busy restaurant kitchen. What it means is that you use the older food before […]

A New Series: Avoiding Food Waste in Restaurants–An IIntroduction

By now, nearly everyone has heard that Americans waste half of our food. This was published in the 2004 findings of an eight year long, USDA-funded study done by anthropologists at University of Arizona’s Bureau of Applied Research Anthropology. Most of the waste occurs after food gets into consumer outlets such as grocery or convenience […]

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