Lesson 4: Chapter 4: Know your kitchen
Every kitchen and food preparation space has its strengths and weaknesses. It’s worth reviewing the space available in order to consider its capabilities, especially when making food waste prevention a priority. Ask yourself, how can this space be used effectively to prevent and reduce waste?
Is the temperature of the space stable?
What equipment is available?
What (if any) investment is needed?
What changes can be made to make the waste management area effective?
Watch – what is your most wasted food?
Watch this video and think about what food is wasted most in your business.
Communication
Communication across the team makes all the difference. When it comes to food waste, the little things can add up to a lot.
Ordering is a critical point in the process of food waste prevention.
How much stock is needed?
What might influence demand?
How frequent are deliveries?
What storage capacity is available?
How perishable is the food?
Storage
In busy kitchens, it’s all too easy for storage spaces to become disorganised and for food to end up forgotten about. Maintaining an organised storage system is vital for preventing unnecessary waste in the kitchen.
Light it up
Ensure that food storage areas are well lit so that everything in stock is easily visible.
Label
Have a clear labelling system in place to mark all foods when tubbing and storing. Then make sure you stick to it!
First in first out
When storing new deliveries, always place the new items to the back and bring existing items forward. This ensures older items are used first.
Maintain cold storage
Make sure fridges, cold rooms and freezers are well sealed and calibrated as required to ensure correct temperatures are maintained.
Stock control
Stock control and ordering is a critical point in the process of food waste prevention.
There are many modern technologies which can make storage most efficient. For example, smart fridges equipped with AI can notify users when food is nearing its expiration date.
Take a look at these case study examples from the FoodTuristic project for more specific information on technological interventions available: