There's an old saying that you have to "measure it to manage it". It's hard to think of a subject to which this aphorism is more applicable than food waste. Likewise, it's difficult to imagine many chefs that aren't fanatical about food waste - it's drummed into them during training that throwing away food unnecessarily is simply throwing money in the bin. Maintaining a good gross profit is the way to the boss's heart. With food ranking as the second biggest cost for a restaurant, after staff costs, there's no questioning the motivation for cracking down on it like a lazy waiter. But if no one's measuring the amount of food being wasted, it's impossible to know the scale of the problem; where, why and how it's occurring; and how much the restaurant could be saving.
展开▼
