Chef wants to change food waste-culture in restaurants

In the acclaimed Copenhagen restaurant, Amass, chef and owner Matt Orlando is leading the way in food experiments that turns waste products into delicious fine-dining meals.

From ice cream made from leftover bread to coffee grounds-miso. The development of new dishes in the test kitchen of Amass is based on a sustainable mindset through and through. By inspiring his staff to see food by-products not as waste, but as a valuable supply of ingredients in new dishes, Matt Orlando is taking the concept of recycling to new, very literal heights. Resulting in Amass’ CO2-emissions dropping from 18 to 12 kilos per guest, with the average fine-dining restaurant producing as much as 25 kilos per guest.

A sustainable mindset based on knowledge and collaboration

The rethinking of waste has fit into a broader sustainability goal at the restaurant. Since 2015, Amass has partnered, first, with the San Francisco–based Zero Foodprint and then with the University of Copenhagen to analyse the restaurant’s overall carbon footprint. The results have given Matt Orlando and his staff a path forward.

Based on the analyses Amass has, for instance, stopped serving lamb due to the high carbon footprint in production, and significantly cut their water usage by collecting all partially full bottles at tables, boiling the water and then using it to irrigate the garden or wash the floors at the end of the night.

Forming partnerships with local bakeries and retailers, utilising their waste-products in the development of new dishes, Matt Orlando and Amass is a leading example of how restaurants can serve delicious food, while also taking responsibility for a sustainable future for the food service industry.

Source: Robb Report