Delicious UK - (02)February 2020

WORDS:

LAURA

DAY.

PHOTOGRAPHS:

CLARE

LEWINGTON,

MATT

RUSSELL

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 19

H

emaynotbea householdname

• yet– butDougMcMasterhas
  beeninstrumentalingetting
  acrossthezero-wastemessage,inspiring
  esteemedchefssuchasDanBarberofBlue
  HillatStoneBarnsinNewYorkStateand
  ChristianPuglisiofRelæinCopenhagen.
  Disruptingrestaurantnormsis
  McMaster’sstockintrade.Andthefood?
  Dishessuchasshiitakemushroomswith
  dumplingsandmustardtasteasgoodas
  theysound– andtheylookbeautiful,too.
  Backin2012,Doug,who’sworkedat
  StJohnandTheFatDuck,waschallenged
  toruna pop-uprestaurantwithouta bin.
  Whilemakingshortbread,herealisedhe’d
  needtosourcetheraw,unpackaged
  ingredientsdirectlyfromfarmers.“Itwas
  themostdeliciousshortbreadI’veever
  eaten,”saysDoug.Twoyearslater,he
  openedSiloinBrighton with the same
  zero-wasteethos.
  Therestaurant,whichmovedtoHackney
  ineastLondonin2019,worksdirectly
  withitssuppliers.Foodis deliveredin
  glassorpaperpackagingandthefurniture
  is madefromrecycledmaterials.This
  sourcingmethodmakesfinancialaswell
  as environmental sense. Milk, bought by

thepail,is usedtochurnbutterandmake

yogurt– cheaperthanbuyingthefinished

products.Flouris milledon-siteand

breadbakedin-house.Thedailymenu

is projectedontothewall(nopaper)

andchangesaremadeinrealtimeas

ingredientsrunout.“It’sanevolving,

breathing,livingmenu,”Dougexplains.

“It’struetothesupplychainandthe

realityofwhat’scomefromtheground

thatday.”Everythingis used:theymake

misofrompotatoskins,andvegetable

treacle(whichDougsaystasteslikehoisin

sauce)fromvegtrimmings.Therestaurant

weighseverythingandusesa formula

forservingsizes.Anyfoodscrapingsare

sentforcompostingata supplierfarm.

“Wasteis a failureoftheimagination,

becausewehaven’thadenoughvisionand

creativitytofinda solution,”assertsDoug.

Accordingtothegovernment’sWasteand

ResourcesActionProgramme(WRAP),

£3billioninfoodis thrownawayyearly

by the food service industry. “Some of the

wasteI’veseenis criminal,”saysDoug.

“Butwithimaginationandintelligencewe

canturnit intoa preciousendproduct.”

TheUnitedNationsis callingonthe

industrytohalvefoodwastepercapitaby

2030,andWRAPsaysachievingthisgoal

woulddeliveranannualreductioninUK

farm-to-forkfoodwasteof3.5million

tonnes,saving£10billionoffooda year.It

hasn’tbeeneasybut,encouragingly,Doug

saystheidealshe’sbeenseeking– suchas

sourcingproducewithoutpackagingand

directdelivery– arebecominglessof

a challenge.“Tobeabletocookandserve

foodthesamedayit’spickedis amazing.

We’rea dropintheocean,buthopefully

we contributed to that shift.”

TRYITFORYOURSELF

Silo(silolondon.com)is openfordinner

fromTuesdaytoSunday,witha brunch

menuatweekends.Foranyrestaurant

keentoexploredirectsupplychains,

Dougusesandrecommendsthe

Foodchainapp(joinfoodchain.com),

whichconnectschefswithproducers.

TofindoutmoreaboutDoug’sphilosophy,

readhisbook,Silo:TheZeroWaste

Blueprint (Leaping Hare Press £20).

making a difference.

Withimagination,

wecanturnwasteinto

a precious product

Meet the man who runs

a restaurant without a bin

Doug McMaster has pioneered sustainable dining in upcycled surroundings, with menus that change according to available ingredients

ChefandrestaurateurDougMcMasterhasblazeda trailforthezero-wastemovement.His

restaurant, Silo, has an innovative and inspiring approach to food, farming and fermentation