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How local food and beverage pros are tackling the restaurant food waste problem.
Restaurants operate on thin margins, so it’s no wonder that chefs find thrifty and creative ways to maximize ingredients in order to reduce costs and waste. Still, restaurant food waste is a problem. Results from a 2014 study by the Food Waste Reduction Alliance revealed that nearly 85% of unused food in American restaurants ends up being thrown away.
Here in Roanoke, independent food business owners have made concerted efforts to reduce food waste and their restaurant’s footprint, particularly as takeout operations have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From chefs to caterers, bartenders to baristas, local hospitality pros share how they’re tackling the restaurant waste problem plus tips for cooking smarter with scraps at home.
Championing Composting
Since Sharon Ponce opened Little Green Hive in 2013, she’s championed composting. Between the two locations, this amounts to 460 pounds per week of composted coffee grounds and smoothie and juice fruit scraps, destined for fertilizer at Sister Nettle Bed & Breakfast and local farms.
River & Rail’s chef-owner, Aaron Deal, is also a compost devotee. Two years ago, he implemented a composting program to benefit local farmers. As each cook prepares ingredients, plant-based scraps and eggshells go into a five-gallon bucket at their station before being combined into larger receptacles.
“It’s cool to see the amount of food not going into the regular garbage with everything else,” Deal says. “I feel good about the fact that it’s being used to grow food.”
Composting isn’t limited to brick-and-mortar spots. Madison Ruckel, owner of food truck Mama Jean’s Barbecue, composts scraps such as cabbage, potatoes and Brussels sprouts, which he then uses to grow fresh chilies for his barbecue sauces and rubs. Shaqueena Snyder, who runs catering company Queen’s Vegan Café, composts scraps from her plant-based menu including avocado shells and pits, banana peels and citrus peels, which she donates to a local farmer friend.
Setting Zero-Waste Goals
Much of reducing restaurant food waste comes down to conscientious ordering. Snyder says that as a caterer, she has the benefit of ordering just what she needs for an event. For Rock & Roll Diner’s Charlie Hamill, not over-purchasing means “trying to be ahead of the curve and seeing what’s trending.” Another way he reduces waste while shoring up his bottom line is menu cross-utilization—if he’s ordering bell peppers, for example, they’ll appear in at least three dishes (a good tip to remember for at-home meal planning, too).
A focused menu of burgers means that dialed-in ordering comes naturally to FarmBurguesa’s co-founders Kat Pascal and Jimmy Delgado. But their zero-waste mission also extends to reducing water waste. There are no utensils, beer mugs or wine glasses, and burgers are served on wax paper atop a reusable plastic plate, resulting in so few dishes they haven’t needed to hire a dishwasher.
Reusing Scraps Smartly
Repurposing food scraps is a creative and cost-effective way to reduce waste. It’s partly why Diane Elliot’s farm-to-table restaurant, Local Roots, has been awarded this year’s Green Restaurant of the Year by the Virginia Green Travel Association. Chef Niall Coffey pickles chard stems to serve with cheese and charcuterie plates, and fruit and veggie scraps are made into syrups and shrubs for the bar.
Elliot also describes Local Roots as a nose-to-tail eatery. Meat trimmings from beef, bison and pork are made into sausage, meatloaf and terrines; bones are simmered to make stocks; and cuts like lamb neck, oxtail and beef tongue take starring turns in entrees.
At Fortunato, chef Jeff Farmer is a proponent of using the whole animal, too. Meat scraps are turned into sausage, rendered guanciale is used for cooking, and chicken bones are made into stock. But he’s also found ways to use up unsold bread by drying it out and pulverizing it into the breadcrumbs used to make lamb meatballs, coat fried fare and top pasta dishes and sometimes pizza.
At River & Rail, fish bones and seafood shells are repurposed into stock, sauces and bisques. Leftover citrus juice from the bar goes into vinaigrettes and sauces, while spent citrus from the kitchen are transformed into bar bitters, syrups or tinctures. Bar manager Shane Lumpp once infused gin with dehydrated mushroom scraps for a savory cocktail and recently fermented pineapple pulp into tepache, a refreshing Mexican drink.
At RND Coffee Lounge, leftover coffee is one of the biggest waste culprits. Co-owners and brothers Quincy and Steffon Randolph are experimenting with making coffee ice cubes to give drinks extra coffee flavor without diluting them. At home, Quincy suggests turning leftover coffee into a luxurious coffee syrup to drizzle over cake, glaze pork chops or give tomorrow’s cup an extra kick.
Rethinking Plate Waste
No matter how tight a restaurant’s menu or how close it gets to zero-waste, there’s still the issue of uneaten plated food. One solution is for restaurants to serve more modest portions, but even with Local Roots’ “reasonable” sizes, Elliot says plate waste is inevitable. To combat this, she’s working with a local hog farmer to turn plate scraps into feed.
Diners can also help by taking leftovers home for a round two meal. Hamill turns steakhouse leftovers into a brunch hash by rewarming chopped steak with sides like potatoes and asparagus.
Adopting Eco-Friendly Packaging
Since COVID-19 has forced more restaurants to pivot to take-out or increase to-go operations, eco-friendly packaging has become a renewed focus. At RND Coffee Lounge, the Randolphs recently switched to compostable corn-based plastic cups and compostable paper cups. At Little Green Hive, Ponce has always had an eye for eco-friendly packaging, opting for recycled paper coffee cups and sleeves. She upgrades as she goes through inventory, like switching to commercially compostable plastic cups.
When it comes to the plastic straw conundrum, neither have found an acceptable replacement. Though paper straws get soggy quickly, Ponce still offers them, along with bamboo straws that can be purchased and re-used at home. Local Roots has found their ideal replacement (though you must ask for it) called Hay! Straws, which are biodegradable and made from wheat straw.
But choosing the more Earth-friendly option is often more expensive. Hamill has always used compostable to-go boxes and straws, but as the financial reality of shouldering additional costs in the pandemic economy set in—increased volume of takeout packaging, staff PPE and delivery company fees—he believes that the cost of these eco-friendly products may eventually fall to the consumer.
Cook Scrappy: Six Scraps to Save
Parmesan rinds: Stash in the freezer and toss into soups, stews and braises to add a savory, creamy hit. For dishes such as risotto or pasta sauce, Fortunato’s Jeff Farmer suggests grating what you need from the rind so that it dissolves completely into the dish.
Stale bread: Beyond breadcrumbs, Farmer recommends turning old bread into French toast or bread pudding (which is also a great way to use up extra eggs). Italian-style strata (a savory bread pudding) is another option and great for using up veggies.
Stems: RND Coffee’s Quincy Randolph pickles just about everything, including stems from leafy greens and cruciferous veggies. Kale, collard, broccoli and cauliflower stems can also be stir-fried or roasted and added to salads, sandwiches and grain bowls.
Veggie trimmings: Save onion peels, herb stems, garlic, and tired celery and carrots to make stock. River & Rail’s Aaron Deal recommends using vegetable stock in place of water to yield more flavorful rice and grains.
Veggie tops: Local Roots’ Diane Elliot likes to sauté beet or turnip greens for a quick side and uses green onion tops anywhere onions go. Carrot or radish tops make vibrant pestos.
Citrus peels: Zest peels and store in freezer for use in baked goods and marinades, or use strips to infuse oil, vinegar or liquor. Chef Queen Snyder of Queen’s Vegan Café infuses water with lemon peels to make a detoxifying drink and makes an all-natural household cleaner with them too (replace vinegar with alcohol if the smell is off-putting).
For more trash-to-treasure culinary inspiration, see this issue's Southern Spoonful, where Becky Ellis transforms leftover coffee, cheese scraps, pickle juice and apple peels into fall-ready dishes.
Transform Your Takeout
- Wash plastic takeout containers and use to store pre-cut veggies, stocks, batch cooked grains and leftovers.
- Save single-use condiment packets for picnics and potlucks or use them as cooking inspiration: soy sauce plus hot mustard equals your new go-to grilling marinade.
- Keep unused single-use utensils for picnics, crafts or even cooking—wooden chopsticks can be used as skewers, to scramble eggs, stir-fry veggies or flip deep-fried foods.
Re-Think Single-Use Plastics & Paper Products
- Ditch the plastic wrap in favor of eco-friendly beeswax wraps, especially locally made ones from Peacock Soap Co.
- Swap single-use plastic bags for a re-usable option like Stasher bags, or wash and re-use minimally used plastic bags.
- Use washable kitchen towels instead of paper towels for tasks like wiping up spills and drying washed produce
The story above is from our September/October 2020 issue. For the full story subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!