La storia con il testo
InterviewerMaya, your restaurant has become famous for producing almost no waste. How did that start?
MayaHonestly, it started with a bin. About six years ago I looked inside our kitchen bin at the end of a busy Saturday and it was full of perfectly good food: bread crusts, vegetable peel, herb stalks. I felt embarrassed, to be honest. So I decided to measure everything we threw away for a month.
InterviewerWhat did you find?
MayaThat we were wasting about a third of what we bought. That's not just bad for the planet, it's bad for business. So we redesigned the menu around whole ingredients. If we buy a cauliflower, we use the leaves, the stalk, everything.
InterviewerIsn't that more work for the kitchen?
MayaAt the beginning, yes. The team had to learn new techniques, like pickling and fermenting, and some of them were sceptical. But now it's become part of our identity. Our most popular dish is actually a soup made from vegetable scraps.
InterviewerWhat about customers who leave food on their plates?
MayaWe made our portions slightly smaller and we offer free second helpings of side dishes. Plate waste dropped by half almost immediately. And anything that really can't be eaten goes to a local farm, where it's turned into compost.
InterviewerWhat's your advice for people at home?
MayaPlan before you shop, and look in your fridge before you go. And don't trust best before dates blindly. They're about quality, not safety. Use your senses: look, smell, taste.
