‘Waste food’ put back on the table by Cinnamon Grand
View(s):Another pioneering feat in Sri Lanka was accomplished at the Cinnamon Grand recently, when the ‘Delicious Waste Chefs’ Competition 2013′ saw an extraordinary seventy plus dishes created by over 40 chefs creatively executed, simply by reusing and reducingwaste in the hotel’s kitchens.
Seen here are the winners with Rohan Karr
The competition was aimed at minimising food wastage in the kitchens, which in the hospitality industry tends to be one of the largest areas that require focus in cost management.
“Designed around the Master Chef concept but with a judging criteria marking on the use of waste and thus reduction of cost, presentation, practicality, speed and ease of preparation, the variety of dishes presented ranging from breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts and snack proved to be amazing. The dishes used everything from throwaway watermelon and passion fruit shells to ash plantain and ridged gourd skins, to leftover breadcrumbs, rice and idly, to seeds from the durian and jak fruit to beetroot, manioc and potato skins, to the insides of the king coconut and throwaway parts of the jak fruit and overripe fruit,” a media release from the hotel said.
The independent panel of judges comprising the internationally acclaimed Queen of Curries Felicia Sorenson, Celebrity Chef Koluu
Delicious ‘left -overs’
(Hemalallindre Ranawake) and travel writer Savithri Rodrigo were all united in their sentiments, denoting the initiative as a timely yet exciting, innovative and imperative exercise for the hospitality industry, commending Cinnamon Grand for this pioneering initiative, much needed for the hospitality industry.
“You have a responsibility to proactively motivate others to minimise food waste and be creative in the kitchen. Please make this a daily practice,” urged Ms. Sorenson, as Koluu added that he was most impressed with the idea, echoing similar sentiments. “From what I have tasted today, some of these can be immediately introduced into the menu,” he said. “The idea must be permeated,
communicated, educated and awareness created to optimise the impact.” On similar lines, Ms. Rodrigo believed strongly that with the guest profile now transforming into a more discerning and well travelled one, “There’s a definite shift in the guest mindset and the fact that Cinnamon Grand will have dishes within its menus using reusable waste from its kitchen, reducing cost and most importantly its carbon footprint, surely adds to the ‘feel good’ factor that guests want today.”
Presenting the cash awards, certificates and gold, silver and bronze medals to the winners, General Manager Rohan Karr harked back to some vital statistics emerging from the UNEP and FAO’s theme for this year, ‘Think.Eat.Save Reduce Your Food-print’ aimed at reducing global food wastage. “Each of you belong and are proud to be among a winning team in Colombo’s largest five star property and the John Keells flagship hotel. But with this pride, comes a responsibility because we are a benchmarked leader in Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry.”
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