Winner of Cambridge chefs’ competition to reduce food waste announced!
Cambridge Sustainable Food are delighted to announce Karl Davies, chef at The Three Horseshoes in Madingley, as the winner of the ‘Taste Not Waste’ Cambridge Chefs’ Competition to combat food waste.
The competition challenged chefs from restaurants, cafes and caterers across Cambridge to conjure up a main course or dessert based on what would normally go to waste in their kitchens. Karl was able to impress judge Tristan Welch, Chef Director at Parker’s Tavern, with a delicious iced coffee parfait, banana bread and milk foam dessert, using typical left-overs (see photos below).
Having spent twelve years in the catering sector, Karl was eager to show his creative cooking skills with ingredients that would otherwise be thrown away, such as over-ripe bananas and left-over coffee and milk. As a prize, he will be enjoying a mid-week lunch for two at Cambridge Cookery, who earlier this year became the city’s first zero food-waste café.
With around one million tonnes of food being thrown away by UK hospitality and food businesses each year, the competition was part of Cambridge Sustainable Food’s ‘Taste Not Waste’ programme to encourage restaurants, catering businesses and food outlets across the city to measure and reduce their food waste. Funded by Cambridge City Council and with support from waste experts at WRAP, it offers a wide range of free resources to help businesses cut their environmental impact, save money and attract new, increasingly eco-conscious customers.
Since its launch, the programme has already seen some great achievements! As a result of participating, Selwyn College introduced self-service veg for staff and students in their dining hall, thereby reducing their plate waste by 12%. Meanwhile, the team at Smokeworks have been trialling meal size choices, offering optional sides and promoting takeaway boxes to their customers, and kitchen staff at the Tickell Arms have been measuring their food waste to see how their different menus affect how much is thrown away. Cambridge Sustainable Food have also been working closely with the kitchen and catering teams at MillWorks, Cambridge Cookery, The Edge Café, Sidney Sussex College and more to monitor food waste and identify and trial measures to make catering practices more sustainable.
To find out more about ‘Taste Not Waste’ and access our free resources go to www.cambridgesustainablefood.org/taste-not-waste.
Tristan (right) congratulating our ‘Taste Not Waste’ Cambridge Chefs’ Competition winner, Karl from The Three Horseshoes.
The winning entry, a delicious iced coffee parfait, banana bread and milk foam dessert, was made using typical kitchen left-overs!
Our winner’s story featured in The Cambridge Independent on 11th May 2019.