What do restaurants do with leftover food?

TOI talks to industry players to find out how safe is eating out

If you can afford a newspaper, are educated enough to be reading this article and went to bed last night on a full stomach, you are among the wealthiest people in the world. If you can afford to dine out every now and then, you're truly blessed. You are better off than 96% of the world population. With nearly 900 million people around the world eating barely enough to stay alive, hunger is, by far, the biggest killer in this world.

In such a scenario, TOI decided to look at the other side of the picture -wastage. And what could be a better starting point than a restaurant? What do they exactly do with leftovers? Do they throw these away , feed the poor or simply reuse the leftovers the next day? Read on to find out.

Reuse edibles
Many in the industry admitted to reusing non-perishable or deep-fried items. Bishal Saha, owner Bangladeshi cuisine specialist Kasturi, said, "Some of the deep fried and half-cooked items are refrigerated for reuse. But around 80% of the food is consumed by closing time," he said.

Nitin Kothari of Peter Cat and Mocambo said, "Years of experience has taught us what to expect on specific days of the week. So we make only what we can finish. But if some items like poultry , fish, prawn and raw vegetables are left over in the early stages of cooking, we refrigerate and reuse till they are edible."

Almost all hotels can calculate the requirements for the day . "For three months after beginning operations, a hotel experiments by adding one kilo to the quantity they order of each food item till they reach an optimum level. Any other perishable product is ordered according to need. We also have seven QSR (quick service restaurant) counters, where we serve rolls, kebabs and sandwiches. Suppose we marinate 20 chicken and sell 14-15, we send the rest to the QSR between 7 pm and 8 pm, as it does better business at night," said Mohit Sancheti, director of Veda.

Nowadays, some fine dining restaurants also employ food controllers -people who check spoilage and wastage of food, which curbs costs.

Food connoisseur Rakhi Purnima Dasgupta said, "I am sure food is recycled in buffets, but I haven't experienced it personally. Hotels these days have big menus. So, they have to pre-prepare a lot of things."

Preetom Mukherjee Roy, fitness and nutrition consultant, said, "Considering the economics of a hotel, it is imperative that some items will be reused. In fact, abroad, there are workshops on how to make good use of leftover food. Yes, the food does lose a minimum amount of nutrition and freshness, but then, how nutritious can restaurant food get? If hotels store it the right way and in the right temperatures, then even leftover food is not a problem."

Feed staff members
Buffets see the maximum wastage and most restaurants either use this to feed the staff or distribute in slum areas as part of CSR activities. Bishal Saha of Kasturi said, "When we are left with too much, we distribute among the staff members."

Mocha, which is left over with around eight-10 portions a day, distributes it among the security guards, parking personnel and sweepers.

Arsalan, too, distributes it among staff members. Executive chef Biplob Chandra Mitra of The Stadel said, "Since most of the leftover food is half done, we reuse it in the staff cafeteria." Prashant Menon of Shawarma Nation said the staff members could have as much as they wanted, but they weren't allowed to take it home.

The Rang De Basanti Dhaba, however, doesn't have leftovers. "It is because we function 21 hours a day . But if there's some biryani left, we give it to the staff. We refrigerate our gravy and chopped vegetables, but don't store finished products like dal makhani or butter paneer," said Abhimanyu Maheshwari, owner of the dhaba.

Anjan Chatterjee of Oh! Calcutta had a similar story . "We do not reuse food. We just calculate the expected footfall and cook accordingly . If some food is still left, the staff gets to have it. That is one of the benefits of being in the industry."

Distribution among the needy
Though some restaurants refrain from donating uneaten food out of fear that they'll be sued if the recipient gets sick after consumi ng it, many are going the extra mile to the extra mile to do their bit for the needy. Ramlal Tewari, manager of the Burrabazar branch of Tewari Brothers, said, "If we are left with chena sweets, kulfi and other dairy items, we send these to Kalighat and Bhootnath temples for distribution among the poor. If we are left with a huge quantity of sweets, we give it away to an orphanage." Balaram Mullick and Radharam Mullick not only distributes sweets among the poor, but adds bread to it. Sudip Mullick said, "In case we are left with sweets, we distribute it along with bread to the poor the next day . The sweet syrup of rosogolla is much preferred by the homeless."

Prashant Menon said, "Whatever is left is distributed among those who can't afford it. We want to tie up with an NGO which can give the surplus to the needy , but sadly, we haven't found one yet in this city."

Oh! Calcutta, too, tried to work with a NGO to distribute the leftover food, but it didn't work as the quantity was not enough.

These days, fine dining restaurants employ food controllers to check the spoilage and wastage of food, which curbs costs

Did you know ?
Huge quantities go to waste during the festive period, as it is difficult to gauge the footfall at that time Beware of specials. It's a ploy to dispose of edible leftovers! Gravy and par-cooked food can be stored for reuse, but not cooked food Veggies generally don't go to waste, as they can be used in different items Most metros have food banks, which collect the surplus food from hotels and give it to the needy. Kolkata is also set to get its first food bank post Durga Puja On an average, a person consumes approximately 150 gm meat during a meal at a restaurant Restaurants like Arsalan and Aminia use 200-250 kg mutton and 400-450 chicken every day Restaurants try to restrict their wastage to below 1% daily

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