Head chef’s leftovers ideas a recipe for success on National Day.
A bakery and group of cafes and restaurants in central Milton Keynes are using today’s Stop Food Waste Day to highlight the importance of using and re-using leftover ingredients in the city.
MK’s Unity Place building, which houses a vibrant mix of bars, kitchens and eateries under one roof, is highlighting the everyday work happening behind the scenes to keep food waste to an absolute minimum.
And its executive chef, Nick Male, wants people to understand how any surplus ingredients can be put to good use. Crusts from bread, leftover dough, broccoli stalks, sprout peelings, wonky vegetables and beer made from bread – the Unity Place catering team try to use them all.
With eating outlets including the Urban Food Market, Unity Sky Lounge, Dipna Anand Kitchen & Bar, the Baker’s Room, and five coffee outlets, the building has plenty to offer – but Nick also doesn’t want to see any unnecessary wastage in the kitchens.
“In commercial terms we have strict targets in terms of margins and it’s part of my day to day job to see that we are managing supplies,” said Nick. “There’s only so much of those costs that you can pass on to customers so it’s about getting the balance right.
“Nobody wants to see waste, but you can’t serve food that has reached its sell-by date. However, you can find ways to use it again in a different way.”
And that includes a range of tasty cakes made from yesterday’s cookie dough, bread and butter pudding created out of leftover crusts and chocolate buns filled with unused brownies.
Nick’s bakery also sells cruffins – muffins made with the trimmings from previously made croissants, and Unity Place has recently started to leave reusable bags of coffee grounds for local people to take away free of charge and use them in their garden soil, deterring pests, and acting as a natural deodoriser or cleaning solution.
And he wants his customers to know that it’s not just on Stop Food Waste Day that he’s putting his cost-saving ideas into practice – at Unity Place it’s happening every day.
Customers visiting the venue are never sure what they are going to find on the ‘Waste Knot’ specials menus, because not all types of food waste are available every day. ‘Waste Knots’ aren’t mainstay menu items, but occasional specials that make the most of surplus ingredients and kitchen creativity.
“Today we are celebrating the fact that it’s the small things that can make a difference. Every day we are looking for new ways to stop waste,” said Nick.
“Stop Food Waste Day is a good opportunity to highlight some of those quieter efforts and show how even small amounts of surplus can be put to good use.”
