In this era where sustainability is a buzzword, the awareness of food waste has a strong presence in many kitchens.
Fine establishments across the globe are adopting the concept of zero waste as their ethos. Some just talk the talk, but others are walking the walk.
Among the world's leading pioneers in embedding zero food waste initiatives into their tradition is The Athenee Hotel Bangkok.
In 2015, it became the first hotel in the world to achieve ISO 20121. The certification, focusing on a sustainability management system, was developed following a British standard and applied for the first time for the London Summer Olympic Games in 2012.
"The accreditation, which is not about a sustainable building but how you manage, ignited our passion," said Choo-Leng Goh, Athenee Bangkok's general manager.
"It beckoned us to transform processes, reshape behaviours and showcase dedication to environmental responsibility while resonating with the societal call for eco-friendly actions."
As a key force behind the success, Choo-Leng explained that to be sustainable, the hotel works towards a balance of community, economic and natural resources.
"Being sustainable is not always expensive. For us, sustainability equals profitability. We pay less because we pay only for what we really use," she said.
Each day, the hotel's food waste is categorised, weighed, documented and made ready for tracking.
"Raising sustainability awareness among our hotel employees was the first thing we did. Once they understood the concept, they would live true to it. They would use everything to the fullest, and they would not let anything waste away.
"We began by setting goals on decreasing water and electricity consumption, plus paying attention to food wastage management."
The initiatives were robustly followed and implemented under the helm of executive assistant manager Ross Park.
"Everyone in the industry wants to get recognition for their sustainability outlook. But what's more important is the work that goes into it and the actual result," Park said.
"We compare the result day upon day, month upon month and year upon year, making sure that we are going in the right direction."
The hotel's daily food waste, from spoiled products, cooking waste and buffet waste to customer leftovers, has dropped by more than half by weight after just seven months.
"Our pledge was to reduce it until there was no waste. Today, we can say that we send zero food garbage to the landfill," said Park.
Such an achievement required earnest understanding and sustainable practices throughout the organisation.
Athenee Bangkok general manager Choo-Leng Goh.
It started with planning food production and identifying potential waste.
The buffet, which causes the majority of waste, has been re-engineered. Different presentations to make the buffet look abundant without being superfluous, smaller plates to prevent customers from overloading, and setting up more stations to offer fresh-cooked food help reduce waste.
Using the right food at the right time is good not just for cost, but also for waste concerns.
Park explained that it makes more sense to use prime-grade seasonal products. Off-season ingredients tend to be not as presentable and most parts end up as cooking waste.
Untouched food, meanwhile, is offered to charities and communities in need.
"Clients hosting weddings and conferences at our hotel may choose from a list of organisations that we work with, including the Scholars Of Sustenance (SOS) and Lumphini School, to redistribute the untouched food from their events," Park said.
Repurposing food and cross-utilising products are other ways towards sustainability, he added.
Working with partners such as Yindee, the hotel's daily leftovers of unserved breakfast pastries go up for sale at 10.30am. "They might not be as fresh as 8am but still very safe and good to eat," Park said.
Kitchen discards, too, are given a new purpose. For example, unused fruits are made into chutney, coffee grounds are added to spa products as exfoliator agent and bacon fat is crafted into candles.
The rest of the food waste then goes to an in-house composting machine which, in less than 24 hours, turns it into dry fertiliser pellets to be used in the hotel's gardens.
Before the last point of decomposition, however, the food waste is categorised, weighed and documented daily.
And among all of the hotel's garbage that ends up in the loading dock ready to go to the city's dumping ground, none is food waste.
"Our approach in incorporating sustainability into the hotel's philosophy is proven to draw environmentally-aware guests, cut operational expenses and bolster our image as a progressive enterprise," said Choo-Leng.
"It has also influenced many of our business associates to become more cost-conscious and devoted to minimising waste.
"Moreover, rather than relying solely on high-cost initiatives, we emphasise fostering behavioural shifts. The shift in behaviour has prompted us to reconsider the purpose of life, even within the realm of business."
An illustrative instance is the hotel's decision to purchase more organic products directly from farmers. The move has a twofold impact. It maintains a reasonable cost structure for the hotel's business while offering fair and satisfying pricing to the food producers, improving their livelihoods.
Choo-Leng said: "I will borrow a quote from famous writer Robert Swan, 'The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it'.
"And when you realise heart and Earth are spelt with the same letters, it all starts to make sense."
