Restaurant Olivia
Restaurant Olivia is known for their handmade pasta and classic Italian-inspired cuisine. The chef insists on local sustainably produced shell eggs (as opposed to more commonly used frozen pasteurized eggs or yolks) and previously only used the yolk of the egg, yielding gallons of extra egg whites each week. The Restaurant Olivia team started the challenge by coming up with creative ideas to use the surplus egg whites including a brunch frittata, baked goods, and bartering them with a local sandwich shop for breakfast burritos. But these ideas addressed the symptoms and not the core problem. In collaboration with food scientist Jonathan Deutsch, the Restaurant Olivia team experimented with their pasta recipe to use whole eggs instead. Both versions were tested side-by-side, first in some items and then across all the pastas. While there was a slightly noticeable difference, the change did not result in a loss of quality. Further, once in application (sauced and cheesed), diners and even cooks couldn’t tell the difference.
By using whole eggs rather than egg whites, the restaurant saves both eggs and labor, and prevents over 1,600 pounds of wasted egg whites per year. The Restaurant Olivia team also found waste- saving opportunities for their well-known homemade focaccia. They often had extensive leftovers and were trying to find uses such as croutons, crostini, and savory bread pudding. To treat the core problem rather than the symptoms, they put forecasting in place and changed their standard focaccia recipe to one of four recipes, yielding anywhere from 31 to 85 loaves depending on reservation numbers. The recipe formulated for the slowest night will now save over $100 in food and labor cost and prevent 12.5 pounds of food waste, compared to the full recipe.
Blue Sparrow Coffee
Among the highest-value products in a coffee shop are the spices used for chai. These aromatic gems are so flavorful that it is only natural to ask whether there is more life left in them after steeping. The team at Blue Sparrow Coffee worked with Drexel Food Lab’s Jonathan Deutsch on a new process for their famous chai that reuses the spices in an additional steeping with additional tea and then blends the first and second batches together in a way that preserves the flavor and quality of the original.
In a pleasant surprise, the revised process also allowed the original beloved flavor to be delivered with less sugar. Across all three Blue Sparrow Coffee locations, this process improvement resulted in annual savings of:
- Over $2,500 in cost of spices and sugar
- Over 70 pounds of sugar
- Over 100 pounds of wasted food
Pit Fiend Barbeque
Pit Fiend leaned into the opportunity to work with Chef Jonathan Deutsch to explore ways to reduce waste in the kitchen. Informed by careful waste tracking, the team identified several areas of opportunity. Pit Fiend Barbecue typically prepares about 4-5 gallons of cucumber salad per week, using 20-25 pounds of cucumbers. Initially in the project, chef and co-founder Michael Graunke asked about how to upcycle the seeds generated by scooping out the cores of the cucumbers. Focused on treating the problem and not the symptom, the team discussed whether it was necessary to seed the cucumbers at all, deciding it was a fine- dining habit that was not necessary in a casual restaurant. Leaving the cucumbers with seeds intact increased the yield of the salad, requiring fewer cucumbers (source reduction), and saving on the labor of seeding. Importantly, no one detected a decline in quality from leaving the seeds in the recipe.
Starting with their average usage of 22.5 pounds weekly, this change resulted in:
- Total annual savings of $2,515 = $867 in labor and $1,648 in cucumber costs
- Total food waste diverted= 14 pounds weekly and 719 pounds annually
The team also developed a new lentil side dish that utilizes leftover lamb fat as part of the Denver Food Matters Food Crawl. “We trim around 1 pound of fat each day off the shoulder cuts we use for our pulled lamb, and occasionally we have lamb that we are unable to sell. We'd always thought that the lamb fat was too gamey to use, but through this challenge, we discovered that it adds a really excellent flavor to legumes such as red lentils, which pair nicely with the ras el hanout seasoning blend we make in-house. Add the slightest amount of pulled lamb, and you've got a filling meal or robust side packed with savory BBQ flavor and bold spices. Many of our customers were very excited to see lentils on our menu - we had no idea they'd go over so well.
Over the Food Crawl, this new dish diverted 2 pounds of lamb fat from the landfill. If Pit Fiend rolls it onto the menu permanently, they’ll divert 104 pounds of lamb per year, saving over $200 in food costs and creating a revenue stream from what was once waste.
As part of the Challenge, Pit Fiend also increased its food donation to The Other Side Academy, and is implementing a new composting program with support from the Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency.
Chook Chicken
Chook Chicken found a revenue win in an unlikely place: upcycled cucumber ends. Chook Chicken uses cucumbers in their signature smashed cucumber side dish, as well as in salads. They usually trim the ends of the cucumbers, yielding just under four ounces (3.71 ounces) of trim for every twenty-pound case of cucumbers (a yield of nearly 99% already). While this product is virtually zero waste, Abby Sands, Director of People and Culture at Chook Chicken, thought the operation could do even better. While less than a quarter pound per case seems insubstantial, multiplied over Chook’s three high-volume locations, the quantity of cucumber ends is significant. The operation averages 7.5 cases (150 pounds) of cucumbers each week, meaning the trim waste is about 1.75 pounds per week. A little waste each day adds up to quite a lot over a year: that’s 90 pounds of cucumber waste per year.
By pureeing these ends and incorporating them into a cucumber and lemon aqua fresca, Chook turns cucumber ends into a revenue-generating upcycled beverage with high customer appeal. The recipe combines pureed cucumber ends, lemonade, water, and simple syrup. Every 3 quarts of cucumber puree, combined with the other ingredients, yields eight gallons of cucumber lemon aqua fresca. The cost is minimal: cucumber ends (otherwise wasted trim so zero cost), 1.5 quarts prepared lemonade ($3.17), water at nominal cost, and simple syrup at the cost of one quart of simple syrup (approximately $.73). Labor is also minimal: about fifteen minutes to puree the cucumbers and measure and mix the other ingredients (approximately $4.82 in labor).
With a total food and labor cost of $8.72, the 12.5 quart batch of cucumber lemon agua fresca costs under 35 cents per 16-ounce portion, approximately two cents per ounce. With a sales price of $2.95 for a glass of the refreshing beverage, this creative upcycling yielded a new menu item with an 88% margin and a revenue of $73.75 per batch.
Assuming one batch per week, the upcycled cucumber lemon aqua fresca results annually in:
- Revenue of $3,835
- Gross profit after food and labor costs of $3,375
- 90 pounds of food waste diverted