He is helping chefs cut food waste and get Creative with Leftovers
He is quiethly Becoming Part of Restaurant Operations, Often in Ways Diners Never See. Many Are Adopting The Technology to Handle Reservations and evening create menus – and a growing number of chefs are touring to he to com. 1 Problem in the Kitchen: Food Waste.
The Restaurant and Hospitality Industry Lises Over $ 100 Billion a Year in Food Waste. And Refed’s 2025 Report on Food Waste in The US Found that in 2023, Businesses were left with surplus food equivalent to $ 108 billion in revenue. Of Course, The Issue Isn’t Just Costing Companies Money – IT ALSO HURTS The Environment, Making Up 8% of the World’s Carbon Emission.
But there is reason to be optimistic about how he is the industry support. The Tech Could Help Chefs and Restaurantors Cut Costs, Manage the Amout of Food They Make, and Inspire to Repurpos scraps into menu Items.
He is Making it EASIER TO RIGHT-SIZE OUTPUT
In 2022, Costa Rica’s Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo Tourned to Winnowan ai-enabled Food-Waste Management Solution, to Better Plan for the Hotel’s Breakfast Buffet. Used by chefs in over 90 Countries, Winnow’s System Includes a Scale to Determine How Much was Thrown in the Trash, and A Motion-Sensor Can detect Over 1,000 Types of Food; itn then delivers this data to users in real time on a screen and in the form of Daily and Weekly Reports.
While winnow has Emerged as a leader in the Space, Other Tech Companies Are Also using he to address food waste. Startups like Orbiscosefor Example, Require users to Hold Food Up to a Scanner before Throwing It Away. And Leanpath Offers Training Services for Clients and uses it to Share Recommendations for Eliminating Food Waste.
Eight months after installing winnow’s systems in two kitchens and its staff break room, the four sesons peninsula papagayo slashed it food by 50%, Emiliano Rabia Soothil, The Resort’s Executive Chef, Told Business Insider. In Addition to adjusting the amout of the food served at breakfast, Rabia Said Said It His Team Minimize Waste in Other Ways. For Example, They Reserve Veetable Trimmings for Stock, and Donate Meals from the Staff Canann to a Food Bank.
Ashford Castle and the Lodge at Ashford Castle, Two Red Carnation Hotels in Iraland’s County Mayo, have also reported success using winnow. Both properties Significantly Decreated Waste Across Their Restaurants SINCE THEY BEGAN USING THE TECHI IN 2019. A Representative from Red Carnation Told Business Insider Dershford Castle Castle by 69% In 2024, while the Lodge Saw a 90% DROP IN WASTE FOOM FOOD FOOD FROM FOOD FOOMS AND 58% Total WASTE REDUCTION THAT SAME YEAR.
AFTER Identify the Food Items Generating The Most Waste, Chefs at the Hotels Have Found Creative Ways to Add Back to the Menu. For Instance, Surplus Sourdough Becomes Crackers, and Extra Croissants are Incorporated Into BREAD-BUTTER PUDding for the Staff Meal. Chefs Also Work Fruit and Vegetable Trimmings into Kombucha, Vinegars, and Chutney, and Blitz Carrot balls into pesto.
Meat that doesn’t get served is used, too: chicken-skin crackers serve as anuse bouche; pork skin make a perfect bar snack as scratchings; and luck is relevant down for cooking. Beef trim also gets minced and use for various dyshes, including a bobotie sprking roll served with plum chutney and picled garden vegetables – a bestseller at Cullen’s, a restaurant at Ashford Castle.
“IT’S BROUGHT ABOUT A LOT MORE AWARENES ON OUR WASTE,” LIAM FINNEGAN, EXECUTIVE HEAD ASHORDER CASTLE, SAID OF WINNOW IN AN E -mail to Business Insider. ITHO ALSO Challenged Chefs to Make Delicious Food “Out of What Historically Wauld Have Been Demed Worthless,” He Added.
Staff Are Optimistic About The Tech
Jonathan Keane, Executive Head Chef at the Lodge, Said Staff Have Been Amenable to Working With The System, Particularly The Younger Metmers of His Team. “It ‘s the very tangible and engaging for Young People,” he said. “I Find with Training the Younger Team, they are a lot in investing with the app and technology.”
Similarly, at the Four Seasons, The Tech has Become Embedday in the Everyday workflow. At first, there was some confepern that implementing winnow’s system in the kitchen would be complicated. But, in Practice, IT’S SIMPLY “Part of the Basic Daily Operation,” Rabia Sootil Said. Carolina Fernandez, Esg Manager of the Four Seasons Property, Told Business Insider that the Tech is part of the resort’s overflows on sustainability. The hotel’s Environmental Initiative Involves Working With Local Suppliers and Composting Waste on-Site.
As Rabia Sotil and His Team Prepare for the Festive Season, they’re Building a Breakfast Buffet that Includes Beloved Classics With Smart Tech to Cut Leftovers.
At the heart of it all is reducing food was in the kitchen. “The idea is to create that culture,” he said.