Waste Management: Lessons Learned
- Published on Thursday, October 28, 2010
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.
