The two million tonnes of food wasted each year by the UK food service industry damage the sector’s reputation and leave a devastating impact on the environment.

Every food item thrown away was produced using land and resources, distributed across the country (and often the world), only to then end up in a landfill or being incinerated, which causes even more pollution.

This is an embarrassment to the industry. What’s more, it is damaging to the trust of our customers. It requires us to take responsibility. Each business must make a plan and take action – today.

Reducing waste in your kitchen can seem like a gargantuan task. However, even though there’s no magic bullet, if you follow a well-informed roadmap and take things step by step, you will succeed in reducing your kitchen waste – and possibly even achieve zero-waste status.

In episode three of the new Food Service Matters podcast, Patrick McDermott talks with Vojtech Végh – a plant-based chef and zero-waste guru who helps restaurants around the world reduce the amount of food they throw out. Vojtech is the author of Surplus: The Food Waste Guide for Chefs.

Vojtech argues that the concept of zero waste is a transformative approach to reaching our ESG goals and will help you reduce food waste in ways that you had never thought possible.

How can you create your own roadmap? In this episode, Vojtech outlines six essential steps to follow when aiming for a zero-waste kitchen. 

“It all comes down to the decisions we make. If something ends up in a bin when it doesn’t have to go there, someone has decided to throw it away. So, making a different decision and creating a new habit over time are key to reducing food waste,” says Vojtech.

“Your team will be looking to you for guidance, support and leadership. Without leadership, it’s never going to happen. Truly believe in what you’re going to do because if you don’t, your team is not going to buy into it. Walk your talk and be convinced about it.”

Once you have made the decision, Vojtech says it’s then about creating an environment that encourages questioning the status quo. 

“It’s all about mindset: the way you think about an ingredient and what you think is possible in the kitchen. There’s a type of mindset that chefs have at the moment where we think, ‘This is the standard. This is how we cook in a kitchen.’ Like trimming, for instance – using only the so-called ‘best part’ of ingredients. Who said that trimming is right? Who said it’s the only way? […] There is no such thing as not having time for changing the way we do things. As long as you have time for doing your regular cooking, then you also have time to work with other parts of the ingredients you use. It always comes down to education and changing habits.”

Patrick’s catchphrase is “What’s measured is managed”, and Vojtech completely agrees. “Do a food waste audit – a measuring period to find out how much food waste you are creating,” he advises. 

“You can do this yourself, hire someone, or maybe buy some fancy kitchen scales – it doesn’t matter as long as you get the numbers. Measure your food waste for a week or two. Then, a few months later, after you’ve implemented your changes – after the training is complete and you tweak your dishes or change your menu – measure your food waste again.”

Vojtech adds that using technology wisely can help. “There are software and tools that can do the job for you and show you the numbers at the end. All you’ll need to do is just look at the screen. The same applies to recipe management software and tools. You must know the yield of each ingredient, what the waste of each ingredient is, and where the waste is actually being produced.”

“A chef de partie or junior chef rarely questions the way you do things,” explains Vojtech. “That means there are certain standards and habits that are being created in the kitchen, even for young chefs, without even thinking about it. We don’t normally ask questions like ‘Why am I trimming so much?’ or ‘Why am I not using this part of the ingredient?’”

The key is to retrain chefs. But does Vojtech experience resistance when he conducts training sessions in restaurants? 

“There are always chefs who are going to question you and be sceptical about it. However, towards the end, they always say, ‘Thank you – it’s saving me time, it’s simpler, and we are actually improving.’”

Moreover, he says that training in zero waste can be a catalyst for sweeping change. “When the chefs are on board with the idea, they are happy to create new habits. Those new habits will then be taken to their next workplace and then the next too. The word spreads, and even more food waste can be reduced.”

Patrick asks Vojtech, “Suppliers tend to always deliver in a plastic bag or plastic wrap. Do you involve them in what you are trying to achieve?”

Vojtech replies, “You absolutely have to. Start talking to all your suppliers and distributors right away to see if they can accommodate your request and to determine what is possible for them – and, importantly, try to find farmers and growers.”

Despite being a logistical challenge, this approach will reap rewards in reducing your waste, he explains. “Even in a small restaurant, like I had, I had over 30 suppliers. There were only a handful of things from each because there was only so much that I could take in bulk or plastic free. So, it was about going through the options to see how I could make it as zero waste as possible.”

On the path to zero waste, your team will need to work together and communicate. “The effort it takes to reduce food waste runs through the entire company – through every touchpoint. Importantly, it doesn’t end in the kitchen; it starts in the kitchen,” Vojtech asserts.

The staff who interact with your customers are critical. “Your front-of-house can give you really important feedback,” Vojtech explains. “They’re the ones who receive the plate and see exactly what’s left on it. They know how to communicate with the customer,” which is important because explaining the menu well will enable the customer to make the correct choices and reduce plate waste. 

Once you have a solid understanding of where your food waste is and have successfully reduced the areas you identified as low-hanging fruit, you can start thinking out of the box.

Vojtech suggests that almost all prep waste can be used with a little imagination. But is it really possible to use scraps, like banana skins or carrot tops, instead of throwing them away? Yes, it is.

“Food waste has to go to the customer’s plate and be sold with a margin because that has the highest return on investment – and it is the reason you have placed the food order in the first place. There are almost always recipes or ways to use those ingredients,” Vojtech argues. “The key is to have the correct mindset.”

“If you change one thing, then slowly, other changes will follow. In the end, you have got to end up with a more sustainable, earth-friendly, and customer-friendly environment,” concludes Vojtech.

To listen to Patrick’s full interview with Vojtech, check out the Food Service Matters podcast.

If you want to measure and understand your kitchen wastage so that you can begin your journey to zero waste, this is where to start. Patrick is CEO of stocktaking app DigiTally, an intuitive stock management system that keeps your whole business up to date, helps reduce food waste, and saves time. Let’s talk! Click to book a 30-minute chat with Patrick and ask about setting up a demo.