Trash Or Treasure? How These F&B Entrepreneurs Rethink Food 'Waste'

I recently attended a unique event in Bengaluru, known as the Serial Upcyclers Club Meet-Up, bringing culinary enthusiasts and sustainability champions together for an 'upcycled' pizza party. The event was hosted by the dynamic duo of chef, food researcher, and entrepreneur Elizabeth Yorke and artisanal baker Pranav Ullal, who both offered a delectable range of snacks and drinks made of what we typically know as "food waste." From the moment I stepped into Ullal's bakery, Loafer & Co., I was enveloped in an atmosphere teeming with creativity.

As the founder of the food and beverages company Saving Grains, Yorke works with the usually-discarded by-product in beer production, known as spent grains, to make flour for delicious treats like cakes, pizza dough, cookies, laddus, and more. All these and more unique snacks were offered at the event.

"I did a course in California with a food historian who has been recreating bread from the 17th century. There, I learnt that historically, brewers and bakers often worked in the same space because they shared similar ingredients and by-products. They worked in what we know today as a 'closed-loop system', where brewers gave leftover grains to bakers, while bakers gave brewers their leftover bread to convert into beer. This is what piqued my curiosity to work with spent grain in India," Yorke said.

Yorke collaborates with dozens of breweries across Bengaluru, the city often known as the craft beer capital of India, where she acquires the spent grains in a bid to curb the food (by)products from going to the landfills. Through these partnerships, she is also fostering a collective environmental effort from the food and beverages industry.

What I Learnt About Food Upcycling

From food scientists to chefs and researchers to content creators, the Serial Upcyclers Club drew a diverse mix of foodies and eco-conscious folk from all over the city. While the guests chatted about sustainability in the food and beverages industry, the aroma of the freshly baked pizzas wafting through the air added to the excitement. 

However, besides just the irresistible food, the event featured a host of discussions about the mounting issue of kitchen waste management followed by presentations on creative solutions that some F&B experts worldwide are coming up with. The speakers shared their insights and research on implementing innovative sustainable practices in the industry.

As the title suggests, 'upcycling' was the buzzword at the meet-up, encapsulating its core philosophy: finding creative ways to repurpose the parts of food we would typically discard. Treading lightly on the word "waste", Yorke asserted that the idea of upcycling is to reimagine these materials as valuable components in their own right.

She explained that the products we tend to see as waste must be accepted as ingredients with unique flavor profiles and textures that can seamlessly find their way into our regular kitchens. This shift in perspective is essential for building a circular economy within the food industry, Yorke added.

Throughout the evening, attendees enthusiastically discussed various upcycling techniques and shared their experiences of working with neglected food parts and by-products. Some of the most fascinating ones were tempting cookies made of spent coffee grounds, a fragrant cold brew and bonbons out of coffee cherry peels, and gummies made of kombucha scoby.

The food and beverages industry is challenging the limitations in food production and cooking by expanding its repertoire of ingredients and redefining what sustainability means. By just making a slight tweak in the way we approach food, we too can reduce enormous amounts of kitchen waste at our homes. 

Repurposing Food Waste At Domestic Level

India's Ministry of Agriculture recently reported that nearly ₹50,000 crores worth of food gets wasted each year in the country. According to the United Nations Environment Programme food wastage index report, 68.7 million tonnes of food is wasted annually in Indian homes, in simple words it is about 55 kilograms per person. 

More alarmingly, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India reported that 1/3rd of all food produced in India gets wasted or spoilt before it is even eaten. Our country reportedly produces the second most amount of food waste in the world, only followed by China. This shameful data exposes a grave issue impacting nearly 23 crore people.

So how can we be more conscious? By thinking creatively about how we can utilize every part of the ingredients we buy, we can make a positive impact on both the environment and our wallets. Besides supporting environmentally-conscious enterprises and restaurants, Indians must take a step towards reducing food wastage at our very homes.

Chef Rahul Sharma, head chef at one of Bengaluru's most popular cafes, Araku, spoke at the Serial Upcyclers Club about ways in which he upcycles food waste in a restaurant kitchen. Meanwhile, he also shared the importance of creating a circular economy in domestic kitchens through sustainable cooking practices and broadened perspectives.

"I always believe that the reason we waste food is not because the product is flawed. It is usually because the product is not well thought out or the person working with it is not imagining how they can find a better use for it," Chef Sharma explained. "Earlier, the idea of 'food waste' was non-existent because of its shortage and the importance given to food. But now, with globalisation and commercialisation, you have apples in peak summers or green peas all year round; With these possibilities, the value attached to food has changed."

Be it baking vegetable peels to whip up guilt-free chips or converting stale bread into croutons, these small efforts that we can adopt in our kitchen can go a long way for the environment and also be incredibly rewarding to our culinary experience. In addition to this, being conscious of our consumerism while shopping for food products is also crucial.

One of the key takeaways from the meet-up was the need to rethink our relationship with food. By recognising the endless potential of food parts and by-products, we can not only reduce the burden on our landfills but also create delicious and nutritious meals. This idea of upcycling isn't just about minimising waste, it's also about enhancing culinary creativity.

After interacting with the attendees of the Club, I was introduced to the collective effort that food and beverages industry members in cultivating systemic changes for a sustainable future. The creativity displayed by these eco-warriors is a testament to the fact that with a little imagination and effort, we can turn what was once considered waste into something truly wonderful.