Zafferano Create Zero Food Waste Menu for Guardian Ethical Awards

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The Zafferano kitchen team has embraced the zero food waste policy of Douglas McMaster, the chef behind the ground breaking SILO restaurant in Brighton, to create an “ethical menu” for the Guardian’s prestigious Ethical Awards held this week at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

It was exciting to create a menu full of fresh summery ingredients with vegetables taking centre stage on the flavour front

Every year, Britain throws away enough edible fresh food to fill Wembley stadium 8 times over. Amazingly, £8bn worth of food is jettisoned annually resulting in huge environmental and economic impact.

Our Chef Director Simon Denton created a zero food waste menu of canapés using exclusively in season ingredients, prepared with respect and allowing the produce to sing out.

Sweet potato cake at the Observer Ethical Awards 2015, held at the V&A Museum in London

Simon said, “It was exciting to create a menu full of fresh summery ingredients with vegetables taking centre stage on the flavour front. Golden beetroots, lovage, carrot gnocchi, cauliflowers, all these ingredients are not only British grown, but as the menu is created to result in absolutely no food waste; anything not used on the plate is compost-able”

“As event caterers we first and foremost need to fulfil the client’s brief by creating show-stopping food, but with this brief there was a further dimension which caused me to pause and consider what we cook and the end waste.  For this event the actual brief was to cook as seasonally as possible, consider the food chain and work with ingredients grown with integrity and that really resonated with the team. ”

 

“Simply because we cater to events lasting just a few hours doesn’t mean we shouldn’t embrace the zero food waste message. It’s good kitchen practice, and as chefs we respect the ingredients, preparing seasonal food with skill and flair, allowing ingredients to be the star of the show, to sing!”

 

The Menu

Chilled golden beetroot soup with goat’s milk foam and burnt leek

Tomato textures, lovage panacotta and smoked sprouting quinoa

Carrot gnocchi with carrot top and walnut pesto and Burrata

Smoked ricotta bon bon, potato and sea vegetable salad, violet potato crisp

Asparagus, slow cooked egg yolk, sprouting brown lentils, hazelnut emulsion

Slow roast Jerusalem artichokes, Jerusalem artichoke purée, goat’s cheese, fermented cabbage, tarragon oil, courgette and courgette flower

Sweet potato purée, smoked aubergine and chickpea, confit broccoli stalks and scarlet kale

Cauliflower steak, colcannon beignet and tomato passata

Dessert Canapés

Vegan cocoa mousse, lemon skin and wild strawberry

Sweet potato cake with spiced mascarpone