Every time a table was cleared inside the dining room at Equinox in Northwest D.C., restaurant co-owner Ellen Kassoff would cringe.
鈥淚f you stood there one night and watched what dishwashers typically scrape into the drain, you鈥檇 be mortified,鈥� Kassoff said about all the remaining bits of food that go uneaten during lunch and dinner service.
The food coming back to the kitchen at is not a comment on chef Todd Gray鈥檚 cooking 鈥� the Connecticut Avenue restaurant has been a fine-dining destination in D.C. for 20 years and has served several presidents and notable figures. Rather, it鈥檚 a reflection of a culture accustomed to wasting food.
In the U.S., 30 to 40 percent of all food is wasted, according to the . In 2010, this amounted to 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food. And the country鈥檚 restaurant industry is a big contributor to these figures.
ReFED 鈥� an organization of private, nonprofit and public-sector leaders committed to reducing food waste 鈥� restaurants in the U.S. generate 22 billion pounds of food waste annually, or the equivalent of $25 billion.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just throwing away $25 billion worth of food,鈥� Kassoff said.
But if all goes according to plan, next year鈥檚 numbers will be a bit lower. Recently, Kassoff and Gray started working toward a 鈥渮ero waste鈥� goal at Equinox. Now, dinner dishes are no longer cleaned over a trash can; they鈥檙e emptied over a compost bin, which eventually gets distributed to farmers in the area. And food that previously may have been considered 鈥渢rash鈥� (carrot peels, strawberry hulls, etc.) are being incorporated in the restaurant鈥檚 menu.
鈥淪o I think it鈥檚 an economic decision; it鈥檚 an environmental decision; it鈥檚 a new way of thinking about cooking,鈥� said Kassoff, who, over the years has worked to make Equinox more planet-friendly with a growing menu of plant-based dishes.
To showcase how 鈥渢rashed鈥� food can become tasty, Kassoff, Gray, and a handful of local chefs and artists will host an interactive on April 22 at . Expect dishes such as fish-bone tacos and broccoli-stem stir fry. Plus, a panel of culinary experts leading D.C.鈥檚 food waste movement will be on hand to discuss best practices for rethinking menus and reusing previously discarded ingredients.
Kassoff said in recent years, she has noticed a slow shift in how consumers and chefs approach food waste and adapt it into their cooking. Dan Barber鈥檚 successful in New York proved that food waste fits into fine dining. The three-week scrap-based experiment also demonstrated that lowering the carbon footprint can start in the kitchen. (Food waste is the single largest component going into landfills, which are the third largest source of methane in the U.S., .)
But still, Kassoff said, more needs to be done.
鈥淎nd it鈥檚 baby steps. We鈥檙e not going to change the world over night, and we understand that,鈥� said Kassoff, who plans to hold more #NotWasted dinner events throughout the year to continue to raise awareness around food waste with diners and chefs.
鈥淎nd I think most chefs in the D.C. area are up for the challenge once they learn and understand more about it.鈥�
are $55 in advance and $65 at the door. More information on the event is available on .听
