There has been a cohesive approach to cutting waste across fine dining.
It is a contemporary obligation to stop and focus on the issues of sustainability and feeding the planet in the future. As chefs we have a responsibility to set trends, educate the young staff and present these ideas to larger audiences around the world.
In Mirazur, we are very conscious about waste, about using all of the vegetable that is in season and respecting the ingredient. This approach is not always an easy one, but has certainly lead to some new discoveries in the kitchen.
One of the dishes on the menu that has put this approach in value, is a fish dish in which I use collagen. In industrial fishing, many varieties of fish that are caught are thrown back to sea dead because they are of no use. I think this is unacceptable. All those fish can be reused because they are full of protein. They can be reused as gelatine which has such a pure flavour and is 80% protein.
My vision is to bring the best out of exceptional produce, and I am aware that great produce is becoming rarer and rarer, so I try to work in close proximity to nature as much as possible and do not refuse what nature has to offer.
Mauro Colagreco, Mirazur (Menton, France)
This is so great to read. I love hearing about different chefs ethos as regards usage of seasonal products and sustainability. Thanks for sharing. I will hope yo visit your restaurant some day soon. 🙂
What a complete nonsense this story. People wake up please!!! michelin star chefs produce probably the most waste of them all. In their pursuit of perfection all good and nutritious food gets trown away. Anyone of you who reads this and has actually worked in this level of restaurants knows what i am talking about.
Food waste is indeed problem in restaurants and more and more chefs are very aware of it, that’s why they are changing their habits and creating dishes using all parts of vegetables and meat, creating compost out of remaining waste etc. There are many initiatives to raise awareness and to create positive action and I am happy to be able to show some of the examples here. The new generation of chefs is well aware of the problems and is working on developing solutions. World is not just black and white, as you are trying to show it. I am showing here another side of the medal.
Unfortunately even such a highly accomplished chef lacks fairly basic knowledge about nutrition. Sure, gelatin can be nice as a textural element in small quantities, but the protein it contains is useless to the human body. (Apart from the calories of course, but I don’t think we need more of those do we?) So gelatin basically IS a waste product.
Collagen and gelatine may be waste product for people who don’t know enough about nutrition. Maybe you should read this:
http://paleoleap.com/all-about-gelatin-and-collagen/