Off the eaten path
Brunch|November 16, 2024
In hotels, cafes and home kitchens cooks are getting creative with food waste. Tomato skins show up in a cake, fat flavours broths, peels have fresh appeal. Of course, we're cheering this change
Christalle Fernandes
Off the eaten path

At Mumbai restaurant Thai Naam, chefs prepare Tom Yum Koong, their popular soup, the usual way. There's lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal and prawns too.

But the rich umami taste in the broth comes from an unlikely ingredient: Prawn shells, a usually discarded kitchen item.

"We simmer them, extracting every bit of flavour, and then sieve them out," says Jaweria Merchant, the restaurant's co-founder and head of kitchen operations. The curry paste that gives the soup its texture and additional flavour is also used in dishes across the menu. Lemongrass stalks and ginger skins help flavour other soups.

The best part? Customers love the food. They have no idea that the recipes were tweaked to minimise waste, or that the kitchen has been creatively repurposing food since it opened in 2020.

It's like the world emerged from the pandemic with a newfound respect for what food can do. In London, Silo, the world's first zero-waste restaurant is five years old and still packed out. Celebrated Italian chef Massimo Bottura has a video series Why Waste?, which gives cheese rinds, surplus pasta, and offal a second life as gourmet delicacies.

On Reels, videos about powdering garlic peels for seasoning are viral. On YouTube, muscly chefs save fat drippings as a special flex. Arina Suchde's The No-Waste Kitchen Cookbook (2023), features 75 recipes that use the peels, stems, and stalks of vegetables and fruits that end up in the bin.

So, how come home kitchens, neighbourhood pubs and hipster cafés aren't following suit? Mass adoption calls for more than viral stories. See how some cooks are developing new recipes, training cooks and servers and rethinking their own ideas of what constitutes food.

Clear the table

For Indian kitchens, the only way to go is up.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM BRUNCHView all
Is It Scrolling Or Screening?
Brunch

Is It Scrolling Or Screening?

Being on the phone while the TV plays is the new normal. Just don't do it when there's company. A case for what it means to be present

time-read
2 mins  |
November 16, 2024
This week, we're...
Brunch

This week, we're...

Preferring the spinoff.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 16, 2024
The newest tricks in the book
Brunch

The newest tricks in the book

Time is money. Here are the best hacks for saving precious seconds and taking even your everyday feed to the next level

time-read
2 mins  |
November 16, 2024
Snuffing out the flames
Brunch

Snuffing out the flames

Has online dating peaked? People are ditching the apps, going old-school, and aiming for IRL connections. Here's how the swipe failed a whole generation

time-read
3 mins  |
November 16, 2024
Off the eaten path
Brunch

Off the eaten path

In hotels, cafes and home kitchens cooks are getting creative with food waste. Tomato skins show up in a cake, fat flavours broths, peels have fresh appeal. Of course, we're cheering this change

time-read
5 mins  |
November 16, 2024
Glamming up your getaway
Brunch

Glamming up your getaway

Every island in the Maldives is stunning. So how do resorts offer a luxury upgrade? At Cheval Blanc it's by elevating every experience-food, service, spa and beyond

time-read
3 mins  |
November 16, 2024
Benefits with friends
Brunch

Benefits with friends

Of course it's harder to make friends as we grow older. Responsibilities, increase, time is short. Luckily, we have our tribes

time-read
2 mins  |
November 16, 2024
A portrait to reflect upon
Brunch

A portrait to reflect upon

Playing with lighting and layering, a young Amrita Sher-Gil depicted herself as bold, mischievous, and enigmatic - all at once

time-read
2 mins  |
November 16, 2024
Keep your trope shut
Brunch

Keep your trope shut

A divided world, a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a prophecy, a burden too heavy for a young adult. 10 YA dystopian cliches to vanquish in battle.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 16, 2024
Sanjeeda Shaikh
Brunch

Sanjeeda Shaikh

Actor, @IAmSanjeeda

time-read
1 min  |
November 16, 2024