Resourcefulness of chefs and food waste prevention in fine dining restaurants

Abstract

The challenge of food waste in top-end, luxury foodservice provision is understudied, especially from the chefs’ perspective. This is a major knowledge gap as (in)effective management of food waste depends on chefs’ (dis)engagement. This exploratory study employs practice theory to examine how chefs (dis)engage in food waste prevention in kitchens of UK fine dining restaurants. 17 in-depth, semi-structured interviews reveal that chefs have good awareness of food waste and understand its negative socio-economic and environmental implications. Chefs have access to professional equipment enabling them to waste less food. However, the competencies of chefs in resourceful cooking are often limited while corporate policies and procedures discourage resourcefulness in the kitchen. The study’s findings suggest that resourceful cooking should become an integral element of hospitality teaching curriculum and chefs’ training. Corporate policies and procedures of fine dining restaurants should be streamlined to encourage more active engagement of chefs in food waste prevention.