R
estaurantkitchensaresodependenton
plasticthata chefoncepunchedLennox
Hastieinthestomachformisplacinga
rollofclingfilm.“I wassoupset,”says
Hastie,whorunsSydney’sFiredoor.“I
wasprettyyoungandI burstintotears.”He’dsimply
puttheclingfilmontheleftsideofthekitchen,
insteadoftheright– andwhilehisboss’soverreaction
wasoutofline,it alsoprovesthatplasticwraprules
kitchens.AtthefirstrestaurantHastieworkedin– at
age15,inSussex,England– herepeatedlyreachedfor
theplastic.He’dtendtoa chickenstockorleta veal
brothbubbleawayforninehours,thentightlycover
eachonewithclingfilmonceit wasdone.“Whichwas
completelystupid,”hesays,“becauseas soonas it cools
down,it hasa naturallayeroffattoprotect it.” But hey,
hewasjusta kid,obeyingolderchefs.
Plasticwassokeytohisculinary
educationthathewastaughthow
toexpertlycoverthings.Thecorrect
approachwastousethesmallest
amountpossible– a trickthatsome
chefscouldstandtolearn.“They’ll
wrapsomethingandit’slikethey’re
wrappinga Christmaspresent:round
andround,somanytimes.”But
goingthroughwadsofclingfilm
wasnormalat toprestaurantswithso
manyingredientstoprepandpreserve.And
inmanybigUKkitchens,Hastienoticedeach
sectionwouldlabeltheirroll,becauseit wasa
prizeditemthatotherchefsmightsteal.
Witha workinghistorysotightlylayeredwith
clingfilm,it’ssurprisingtolearnthereisn’ta single
rollintheFiredoorkitchen.Thechefhasbeenactively
removingplasticfromhisbusiness– andindoing
so,joinsa waveofhospitalityfigurestryingtobanish
thisenvironmentalhazardfromtheirvenues.With
theadventofclimatestrikes,zero-wasteinitiatives
(suchasPlasticFreeJuly)andtheEllenMacArthur
Foundation’sfindingthat“therewillbemoreplastic
thanfishintheocean,byweight,in2050”,it’sno
wonderpeoplewanttoreducethedamagedone
bysingle-useplastics.
“Wegotridofplasticstrawsa coupleofyearsago,”
saysHastie.“Wenowhaveeithermetalstrawsorhay
straws.” Firedoor uses glass storage jars and otherpermanentcontainers,insteadofclingfilm.Hastie
creditstheriseofsustainableproductranges,plus
backingfromhisteam(especiallyhissous-chefJason
White),asinspirationfortheplastic-freepush.
Suppliershavesupportedthemoveandtransport
ingredientsinboxesthattheytakebackwiththem.
Thatsaid,he’shadtoconvincesomeproducersnot
todeliveringredientsmummifiedinlayersofplastic.
Storingproduceinanexcessiveamountofwrapping
onlydegradesitsquality,anyway– it’swhyJoshNiland
doesn’tuseclingfilmat Sydney’sSaintPeterandFish
Butchery.“Ifyoucling-filmedyourarm,yourarm
wouldsmellgross,”hetoldGourmetTravellerin2017.
Doingthattofishwouldcreatethesameeffect.So
avoidingplasticisn’tjustgoodfortheenvironment,
it alsomakesyourfoodtastebetter.
“Thisis a bitropey,let’sgetridofthese...”
wasDarrenRobertson’sresponsetotakeawayplastic
containersintheearlydaysofThreeBlueDucks,which
beganas an18-seatcaféinSydney’sBrontein2010,and
hassinceexpandedintofourlocationsontheeastcoast,
includinga venueinByronBaylocatedona 32-hectare
farm.Sure,it’simpressivethattheplasticcontainersare
gone,as aretheplasticstrawsandbags.ButtheJuggler
café milk tap system,firstinstalledinBronte,is even
moreso.Thischilled-milkdispensing
systemis botheco-friendlyand
efficient:milkis deliveredin10-litre
lotsthatloadintothechiller,making
plasticbottlesunnecessary.Once
installed,Robertson’steamnolonger
hadtoemptyone-and-a-halfbinsof
plastica week.“Andthatwasjustat
Bronte.”It’snowinallThreeBlue
Ducksoutposts,andhassavedaround
200,000plasticmilkbottlesintotal.
Byofferingsugarcane-basedtakeawaycontainers,
a waterfountainratherthanbottledwater,house-
madecold-pressjuicesinglassbottlesanda cooler
programtoreplacethepolystyreneboxesfromtheir
fishsuppliers,amongotheradmirablemoves,Three
BlueDuckshasdrasticallycutdownonwaste.Butthe
businessisn’tfullyplastic-free.“We’restillsearchingfor
a compostable cling film solution,” says Robertson.➤“Therewillbemore
plasticthanfishin
the oceanin2050”
so it’snowonder
peoplewant to
reduce the damage.GOURMET TRAVELLER 67PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES.