• Look at all those yummie garnishes so often left un-eaten.
Bjorn Godwin owns the Knox Street Bar in Chippendale, Sydney, Australia.
Here’s Bjorn’s story about how the bar turns cocktail food waste - garnishes, straws - into compost that becomes plants in a seat that’s a compost outside his bar.
At the Knox St Bar we have been reducing our food waste over a few years to where we now have significantly reduced spoilage, prep waste as well as eliminated all food waste going to landfill.
As a cocktail bar we prepare and use lots of fresh fruit and herbs for juice and garnishes.
All food waste previously sent to landfill, now goes into powering our coolseats compost system.
Similarly, we also used to crack dozens of eggs each day to use only the egg whites as a foaming agent and to add texture without adding other flavours. The egg-yokes all went to waste as we couldn’t find any bulk use for them in our bar. The simple solution was to purchase cartons of pasteurised egg whites thereby completely eliminating all the waste at our end. Pretty simple, about the same cost, and the preferred food-safe process.
• The seat that’s a compost outside Knox Street Bar. Passersby sit on it not knowing the bar garnish is below, composting, and feeding nutrients to the plants
The next step in this journey was to somehow reduce the amount of garnishes not eaten and being returned in empty glasses, all of which had previously been sent to landfill.
• Sustainable House conducts a lot of research here
The simple solution was to collect and add it to our coolseats compost system where the worms, heat and bacteria break it down over a number of weeks into fabulously rich and healthy compost. And because the citrus is so acidic, we also add all the used paper straws and paper cocktail napkins to increase the carbon thereby maintaining a healthier oxygenated mix.
Our ongoing objective is to educate and encourage our customers to appreciate and value their cocktail’s garnish by either eating it or requesting that it not be included with their cocktail.
Raise a glass to @lovefoodhatewastensw
Bjorn Godwin