Australian Gourmet Traveller - (02)February 2020 (1)

GOURMET TRAVELLER 21

PHOTOGRAPHY LUKE LATTY (DAN THE MAN).

ForValentine’sDay,you

couldgetchocolate

atSydney’sMeltdown

Artisan(trythevegan

yuzu-lycheeblockor

theVietnamesecaramel

ganache),buttomake

thingsreallypersonal,

getyourlovedone’s

imageprintedona

FacePop.$35forfive,

meltdownartisan.com

Forgetwastefulhotel

breakfastbuffets.BaseVevey

inSwitzerland’sLakeGeneva

regionhasa betteridea:the

BaseBreakfastBag.On the

bag’slistofoptions,tickwhat

you’d like(frommueslitofresh

pastriesfromHokta,a bakery

500 metresaway).Leaveit

byyourdoorandawaketo

findthebagfilled thenext

morning. basevevey.com

A billiondisposablecupsendupinAustralian

landfilleveryyear.PerhapsCupffeecouldbe

theanswer?Mouldedfromediblewafers,

thedesignretainsheat,canbeeaten(it’s

a goodsourceoffibre!)andwhenthrown

away,it breaksdownnaturally.cupffee.me

Feeling scrappy

Dan the Man prefers to throw around

ideas, rather than throw things out.

For one catering job, the Sydney

business served lamb and used the

leftover fat to create a candle that was

poured into an empty chickpea tin

(the legumes were on the menu, too).

It’s the kind of creative thinking that’s

helping the company achieve its goal

of one day becoming Australia’s first

zero-waste caterer. Co-founder Ilana

Cooper says peering inside the compost

bin has inspired her team. Carrot

tops and peels, from heirloom-carrot

crudités, were taking up a lot of bin

space at events. “Enter carrot-top pesto

and carrot-peel bar snacks,” she says.

“They also made their way into our

signature mongrel focaccia, which is

made with our leftover herbs.” And

instead of single-use napkins, the team

uses fabric offcuts supplied by fashion

label Bec + Bridge, which can be

washed instead of trashed. Phasing

out cling film has been tough, though

• “driving really slowly with tea towels
  on food and just hoping for the best”
  was one attempted solution, before staff
  realised that attaching silicon sheets
  to platters with bulldog clips was the
  best option. At the end of Dan the
  Man events, guests are encouraged to
  leave with leftover food (which adds
  a joyous element to parties). The
  caterer has just launched a waste-audit
  program to help any business hoping to
  reduce its impact on the environment.
  danthemancooking.com

How do you become Australia’s first zero-waste caterer?

Dan the Man in Sydney steps up to the challenge.

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