Food is one of the key components of Christmas day.
We all expect mountains of turkey, pigs in blankets, Brussel sprouts and roast potatoes, followed by Christmas pudding and of course, the tin of sweets that you tuck into 20 minutes later despite insisting you’re full.
But when you are cooking so many different things for so many different people, it can be easy to end up with too much.
Lots of us want to live more sustainably and cook in a way that reduces the amount we throw away.
Sophie Andre runs zero-waste catering business Elysia catering and has prepared food for the Cabinet Office and big companies like Airbnb.
The business uses surplus and waste food to create canapes for businesses – and even delivers them by bicycle.
Sophie is originally from France but she came to London three years ago, with dreams of setting up a social enterprise.
She explains: ‘I don’t have a food background at all. I arrived in London about three years ago but for a few years before that, I was in touch with a guy in the United States who has a chicken company.
‘They employed people who needed some training to go back to the job market. His social business was working very well. I was quite impressed with it.
‘I wanted to do something like that, but with breakfast. I wanted to create breakfast on the go, with very high-quality ingredients and set up a training program for young people so that they can sell and market the product.’
Unfortunately, her idea didn’t work out as she originally planned as she didn’t have the skills to create the training programme, but it helped inspire her to develop Elysia instead.
Through sourcing good quality ingredients, Sophie spent time talking to farmers and producers and she realised that so much food was being thrown away, even though it is perfectly edible.
Two and a half years ago, she started the catering company and has slowly built up clients across London.
Now she works with a team to create a menu using waste products from high-quality food producers. They also run workshops to teach others about reducing their food waste.
She says: ‘We source local ingredients from the UK – around mostly 95% come from here. We still source some olive oil etc from Greece, and some things in France and that most of our ingredients are British.
‘We use as much surplus food as possible. We use wonky produce, which can still be eaten but might be misshapen or scarred. There are also things like cheese wheels that are cut by cheesemongers to check if the cheese is ready. They will put a long knife inside the wheel and so there will be some holes in the wheel and it can’t be sold, but we can easily use it and cook with it.’
Although it can be difficult to create food when you’re not sure what ingredients you will have, Sophie says that they have learnt to be very flexible.
‘We change the menu with the season and we’ve learnt to be quite vague,’ she says.
‘For example, we might say winter vegetables but that could be squash, carrots or whatever is available.
‘And we will just say cheese, rather than a particular type.’
The team, based in Bermondsey, south Londo, also ensure that they use every piece of food is used – reusing offal from meat to make pate for example or making pesto from leftover herbs and veg.
Over the time she has been running the business, Sophie says she sees a big change in how people view food waste.
She says: ‘People want to talk about surplus food now and they want to know what they can do about it.’
After over two years of honing her zero-waste skills, Sophie says it is possible to reduce your Christmas waste at home.
She says: ‘Firstly, buy what we need – it is very easy to go for the larger portions or special Christmas discount at the supermarket but write a list of exactly what you need and stick to that.
‘If you are going to prepare a 3-course meal for your family, figure out the portions right to avoid having too many leftovers. For instance, for the main meal, you can account for 200g of cooked meat per person, 150-180 g of side dishes (potatoes/sprouts etc.) and 150 g pudding.
‘Once you have had the meal, think about any leftovers. If you have any herbs and green leaves left, you can store them in a container wrapped into wet kitchen paper and they will last at least a week in the fridge.
‘Before Christmas, clear out your freezer and use what is there to have space to store any leftover food. It’s also good to prepare a recipe to transform and eat any surplus roasted potatoes, sprouts, vegetables, turkey.
‘If you still have some leftovers, you could share them with your neighbours. It might be a good way to reconnect with your local community.’
Elysia catering’s Christmas leftover recipes
Christmas pie
Christmas leftovers are great to make a delicious pie with.
Cut the turkey or ham, or even both into small chunks, and add all those leftover veggies with it too.
Mix into a lovely sauce and you can add gravy if you have some lying around.
Then toss it all into a casserole dish and top either with shortcrust pastry or that leftover mash potato.
Throw it into the oven and enjoy!
Frittata
1 good glug of light olive oil
1 large onion
500g of leftover Brussel sprouts and roasted potatoes, chopped into small pieces (can add other leftover vegetables too)
Salt and black pepper
Three eggs
Heat the frying pan over medium heat with olive oil.
Saute the onions until caramelised and then add the leftover vegetables
Season well and distribute the vegetables evenly over the pan
Whisk the eggs together and then pour over the pan
Turn the heat down, and cook until the eggs are almost set, so they are a little soft
Take off the heat and bon appetit!
Potato hash
One large onion, chopped
One clove of garlic, chopped
Three or four slices unsmoked bacon, roughly chopped
Six – eight leftover roast potatoes, cut into cubes
200g of leftover cooked veg (kale, green beans, red peppers)
75g smoked cheddar, grated
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to season
Two or three large free-range eggs
Heat a little olive oil in an ovenproof skillet or pan on medium heat.
Add the onions and allow to cook for a couple of minutes, before adding the garlic and bacon.
Fry for a couple of minutes allowing the edges of the bacon to start to crisp up, before adding the potatoes. Turn up the heat a little and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the cooked veg, season with salt and pepper and cook for a few more minutes.
Add the grated cheese and mix through before removing from the heat.
Make sure the hash is spread evenly across the base of the pan.
Carefully crack 2 eggs on top of the dish before transferring to a preheated oven (190c/170c fan) and cook for eight minutes, or until the egg whites have set.
Serve immediately.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/15/zero-waste-caterer-explains-can-cut-throw-away-christmas-11782704/
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