South Africa
Wise up on waste
Waste is a hot topic on today’s public and political agenda. There is a huge amount of global waste and the issue has to be addressed.
The recent release of our 2nd World Menu Report called “Wise up on Waste” is about reducing food waste which is one of the biggest challenges for the hospitality industry worldwide. In the UK alone, over 4 million tons of organic waste is thrown out every year and this number is increasing! The food we throw away is a waste of valuable resources; it is expensive to buy and dispose of.
Food has a high carbon ‘footprint’. It requires considerable energy to grow, harvest, transport, process, package, retail and prepare and consequently has a serious impact on our planet.
In the second edition of the your Kitchen service brand book we focus on working smart and providing hints and tips to help you reduce wastage in your kitchen.
We are very pleased to partner with Chef Garth Shnier who is currently the Executive Chef/Food and Beverage Manager at the Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg. In his current position, Garth is also responsible for overseeing the food operation of Sandton Convention Centre, which is one of South Africa’s largest international convention centres. Chef Shnier is very passionate about working with Unilever Food Solutions and supportive in helping others to reduce food waste in their business.
Download a copy of the latest Service Brand book 'your Kitchen as well as a link to the toolkit
Below are some useful tips to help you reduce waste
Portion Sizes - Regularly
check plates when they come back to understand which dishes are too
heavy or too large. You may notice a lots of garnish left over or too
much sauce.
Making adjustments can help save money.
Accurate Measuring - Use scales to measure out ingredients as well as portions. Your recipe should always be the basis for your selling price.
It’s not unusual for an over-service of more than 40% to occur.
Perfect for great value seasonal items.
Accurate Ordering - Employ accurate ordering and stock rotation to avoid ingredients going out of date.
If there is a booking cancellation use ingredients on specials board.
Get Creative - Be creative with vegetable trimmings to make tasty soups. Use toast from breakfast for breadcrumbs for fishcakes, and stale brioche for bread based puddings.
Use of off cuts to create tasty starters. eg, pork and chicken trimmings can be turned into pâtés and terrines. Turn excess produce into chutneys, pickles and jams.
Dehydrate excess fruit and vegetables to create highly flavoured powders. Dry out the fruit or vegetable in a low oven and whizz through a processor. Use the vegetable powder in sauces or and fruit powders over sorbets and ice-creams.
