Founded in 1928 in Paris, The World Association of Chefs’ Societies (WorldChefs) is a dynamic global network of over 100 chefs associations representing the spectrum of chefs across the myriad of levels and specialties.
WorldChefs hosts the biannual four-day Worldchefs Congress & Expo as the premier showcase for culinary innovation. In mid-July, over 1,000 chef delegates and competitors from 80 countries converged on Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Worldchefs Congress & Expo 2018.
The 2018 Congress celebrates 90 years of empowering chefs through education, competition, and camaraderie.
Feed the Planet: an empowering WorldChefs’ Initiative
Feed the Planet is a WorldChefs initiative designed to inspire sustainable food consumption among communities and professionals. In addition, Feed the Planet supports people in need through emergency relief, food poverty alleviation, and education.
On day three of the 2018 Congress, the educational plenary program was dedicated to Feed the Planet. Presentations focused on the current global food waste scenario along with empowering programs committed to evolving the seemingly broken food system. After the “big picture” presentations, the focus narrowed down to local, effective initiatives and case studies on food waste reduction in culinary operations.
The Regeneration in ACTION (RiA) Blog article, Feed the Planet: an empowering WorldChefs Initiative, gives an overview of WorldChefs and a recap of the Feed the Planet session.
The Profitability of Waste
During the Feed the Planet session, Elemental Impact (Ei) Founder & LAI Chapter Board Member Holly Elmore presented on The Profitability of Waste: the business case for food waste reduction.
After a quick overview of the successful Zero Waste Zones 2009 launch in Atlanta, GA, Holly shared a recipe for food waste reduction success. In addition, Holly outlined the basics of where and why back-of-the-house food waste is generated.
Through powerful case studies, Holly emphasized key ingredients for success with the below message:
A well-run kitchen generates minimal waste!
The main thrust of The Profitability Waste presentation was the four inspiring case studies:
- Ted’s Montana Grill – Stopping food waste starts with prevention.
- Affairs to Remember Caterers – Sustainability is integral to the business model.
- Georgia World Congress Center Authority – A hospitality industry pioneer.
- Levy Restaurants – Good doesn’t quite cut it at Levy. (combined with the GWCCA case study)
- Arwyn Watkins – Measuring food waste minimizes food waste
.Throughout the four case studies, the key ingredients for success in food waste reduction programs were interwoven within the respective culinary operations.
Beyond the “right thing to do,”
Food waste reduction is the “profitable thing to do,”
… and the “EASY thing to do!”
The RiA article, The Profitability of Waste: the business case for food waste reduction, published with an overview of Holly’s presentation highlighting the four case studies.
A comprehensive Feed the Planet PPT presentation, as well as the solo The Profitability of Waste: the business case for food waste reduction presentation, are available for download on the Ei Speaking Engagements page.
The Holly Elmore Images FB album, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 2018 Visit, includes a section on the 2018 WorldChefs Congress & Expo along with sections on Holly’s guided and self-guided KL tours.
Photos are courtesy of WorldChefs.