Food waste in a hotel foodservice: A case study identifying hot spots and strategies to prioritize towards a reduction

Abstract

The present study focuses on the characterization of food waste (FW) in a hotel foodservice along with the proposal of strategies for FW reduction. The food discarded in a hotel foodservice located in Montreal was quantified and categorized according to its origin (preparation waste, plate waste or spoilage), the type of service provided (restaurant's personalized table service or banquet), the meal formula (buffet or à la carte) and the possibility of its avoidance (avoidable, possibly avoidable or unavoidable). The results indicate that the majority of total food waste is avoidable. A major hot spot turns out to be preparation waste. As for plate waste, the quantity is minimal and did not vary significantly between the meal formulas, the types of service and the portion sizes, with some exceptions for the buffet formula. Based on obtained results, various strategies for FW reduction at multiple levels such as training kitchen staff in the actions against FW, reducing the number of items on the menu and/or the variety of preparations in a meal and modifying the banquet culinary package to include two-course menus, were proposed aiming at increasing the sustainability of hotel foodservices.