Waste Management: Lessons Learned

Published on Thursday, 28 October 2010 14:08

Written by Amelia Levin, Contributing Editor

As a result of a waste management initiative that focused on a pair of corporate cafeterias, Intel and Bon Appetit developed some best practices in food handling and waste reduction. Here are a few lessons they learned and how they have been applied in Intel’s two Hillsboro, Ore., dining facilities.

Vegetable Trim Waste: Chefs review trimming practices and reuse the trim in stock, soup and sauce production.

Fruit: Unused fruit can be reworked into chutneys and sauces or in other cooked menu items.

Pizza Station: Moved to a batch-oriented, as-needed production model, throughout peak and non-peak meal periods.

Soup: Review seasonal preferences and weather forecasts to better predict demand. Use enhanced food safety techniques for saving and reheating extra soup safely.

Chili: Use leftover chili as a topping for entrees, including tacos, pizzas, baked potatoes, and others.

Starches: Puree starches for use as thickeners and bases for soups and stews.

Coffee: Curtail coffee production during less busy times, such as the afternoon. Chill and mix leftover coffee for iced coffee beverages.

Deli Station: Add staff to this station to prevent mishandling of food by customers in an otherwise self-serve format. This can also reduce potential food safety issues, which can otherwise lead to food waste.

Salad Bar: Examine vessel sizes and waste by item to reduce available portions of less-used ingredients. Move to smaller display bowls to maintain variety without excessive leftovers.

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