Local chefs urged to be waste-aware

With Aussies throwing out $8 billion worth of edible food every year - equal to 450,000 garbage truckloads - Unilever Food Solutions is calling on Blayney shire chefs to help trim the waste lines of foodservice kitchens across Australia by taking part in Good Fork Week, to be held from Monday 14 October to Sunday 20 October 2013.

Managing Director of Unilever Food Solutions, Yezdi Daruwalla, is calling on Blayney Shire chefs to reduce their kitchen's waste by 20 per cent, which if successful could save the average restaurant over four tonnes of food waste or the equivalent of 16 standard wheelie bins annually.

Mr Daruwalla said: "We are encouraging chefs and food operators from across Australia, including Blayney Shire, to register now to be part of Good Fork Week. Registration signifies your commitment to make small yet effective changes to your kitchen processes to implement effective waste management practices.

"Through this movement, we aim to bring the Australian food industry together to work on reducing the impact of unnecessary food waste on the environment; an important initiative that will benefit our industry and our communities."

To assist Blayney Shire eateries, Unilever Food Solutions has developed a free 'Wise up on Waste' mobile app and toolkit.

These free tools show chefs and operators how to effectively and practically improve their waste management practices.

Using information from the Wise Up on Waste toolkit, one of the largest clubs in Australia, Wentworthville Leagues Club, implemented a simple waste audit in three of their restaurants and achieved astounding results.

Wentworthville Leagues Club Head Chef, Colin Yabsley said, "the overall results from our waste audit were fantastic."

"We achieved a 21% reduction in our waste which means we'll save over $19,000 off our bottom-line over the whole year. This is a significant saving for the business which we think will result to $100,000 worth of savings in just five years.

"It wasn't until we actually tried it that we realised saving waste isn't rocket science but rather good business practice. A few small changes to our basic kitchen practices will really result in thousands of dollars saved every year," said Mr Yabsley.

Participation in Good Fork Week is free of charge and all interested participants can promote their involvement with free table top tent cards and posters available to download by registering on the Unilever Food Solutions website. For more information about Good Fork Week, to participate or to download the app and toolkit, visit www.ufs.com.

Source: Blayney Chronicle, 26 September 2013