Food saviours

A little bit of silliness lightens the mood on the serious topic of food waste.

- RUSSELL BROWN

'I think I'm probably naturally a bit silly..." ventures Food Rescue Kitchen host Naomi Toilalo.

It's the silliness that makes it sing. The food influencer, Bake Off veteran and former Whakaata Māori presenter is so obviously enjoying herself on camera that it lifts what could have been a lecture on food waste.

"You don't want to make this kind of kaupapa preachy, eh?" Toilalo ((Ngāti Porou) says. "People are dealing with enough. They don't need to be told they're doing another bad thing. So, it's trying to bring awareness in an inspiring and fun way. We're not trying to preach at people." Over six episodes, Food Rescue Kitchen challenges well-known chefs to create a three-course community banquet from rescued food (a little foraging is permitted) and if you're the kind of person for whom the words "reduced to clear" are sweet music, you should definitely watch it. You may also be shocked by what gets treated as waste in the daily food economy.