An experienced kitchen porter who has been working in smart restaurants around the South East England said today that he has to clear up a lot of vegetables from the plates of restaurant-goers in this country. This is creating a lot of food waste. He currently works in a gastro pub.
He comes from a family whose parents had to eat grass to survive during WW2 when Hong Kong was under the Japanese Invasion.
He said that restaurant-goers ‘are paying a lot of money for their meals’ but they do not eat everything so every day the kitchen has to waste a lot of good food and the gastro pub does not give any food to the homeless. Sometimes restaurant-goers don’t even touch the vegetables at all, very occasionally there is leftover meat.
When I went to a café recently in West Kent, I also noticed people leaving their salads in posh ‘hipster’ cafes despite the salads being very good. You do wonder about their nutrition and whether they are wasting a lot of vegetables at home too.
It’s very sad that people here don’t appreciate their food. Perhaps more people should eat ‘children’s meals’ to cut down on waste.
*Beaulieu* 