Simple Ways to Avoid Food Waste by Genevieve Meli

It is 2025 and by now, recycling our papers, plastics and other materials has become second nature. We know to avoid single-use plastics when we can and carry reusable shopping bags at the market, following the grade-school mantra of “Recycle, Reduce,  Reuse.”

As a food professional, I have done a lot of conscious work to expand the way I think about recycling—especially in the face of the tragic levels of global food waste, with perfectly good food finding its way to our bins due to cosmetic imperfections, over-purchasing and even simple accidents such as dropping ingredients on the floor.

Approximately 40% of the world’s food supply ends up in landfills, representing not only a significant loss of resources, but also a strong contribution to environmental issues such as increased carbon emissions.  And while this is a troubling number, it can feel like too big of a problem for individuals to solve. Will my personal changes make an impact?

To me, the answer is yes. When  wide-scale recycling was first introduced in the 1960s, for many it felt futile, and they resisted. But today it is common practice, and according

to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 32% of qualified materials are recycled today compared to only 7% in the 60s. Small changes catch on and make a global impact.

What do small changes look like in a bakeshop? When it comes to food waste, I work at a micro-level, finding ways to repurpose virtually every bit of food trim I can get my hands  on. Banana peels find their way into pastry  cream; olive pits contribute to an aromatic simple syrup; and spent coffee grinds make an ideal textural and flavorful addition to traditional coffee  cake. I don’t always know where an item will end up, and the experimentation is part of the fun. I let the flavor lead the way.

As a young pastry chef, I used to save bowls of leftover mirepoix strained from stocks in our shared kitchen. They were my favorite little snack, still full of flavor despite their long simmering. Finally, the lightbulb went off and I realized how silly it was for me to be the only one enjoying this perfectly good — great, in fact! — product that is otherwise going in the trash. I had a lot of ideas and started testing. Some were  failures. Some were  even worse. But then I landed on what is still my favorite way to use leftover mirepoix—whether from stocks, braises or roasts.

Mirepoix Pot Pie is a savory, nutrient-rich comfort food that uses not only leftover mirepoix, but any vegetable trim or remnants you may have on hand for the filling. When blended with a bit of stock, the mirepoix does the job it was made for: it is aromatic, savory and rich, bringing a depth of flavor you don’t get from the average veggie-based pot pie. You don’t need thickeners or lots of rich cream and dairy, since the blended mixture offers body and viscosity, binding the other ingredients in a velvety sauce.

To take the effort even further, I opted to make a beef tallow puff pastry versus one made with butter. Why beef tallow in a vegetable pot pie? Well, beef fat happens to be a significant source of food waste in professional kitchens, and with just a little extra time and effort, the fat can be rendered from scraps and trim and used in a number of ways. This is not only good for the earth, but can save a restaurant serious  money in purchasing expensive butters—and you have now prepared a sellable product using primarily repurposed ingredients.

Speaking of dairy, I am a champion of soured dairy products. Different from spoiled or rancid dairy, which should be discarded, soured milk and cream will smell and taste a bit like blue cheese and still have plenty of life left. These flavorful ingredients make for a unique pancake batter or scone,  but I’ve started using the cream to make soured butter candles.  With the addition  of caramelized milk solids (a byproduct of clarified butter) and corn husk wicks, these candles  can be molded in whatever shape  you’d like and served with house-made breads for dipping.

These are just a few ways that we can repurpose edible food trim for a more sustainable kitchen, but there is no limit to what we can create. You can find recipes for my Mirepoix Pot Pie and Soured  Cream Candles  in my book Baking an Impact: Small Changes for More Sustainable Baking (CIA Press).

Photos Courtesy of The Culinary Institute of America

(This article appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)

Genevieve Meli is a certified master baker, certified higher education professional and associate professor of Baking and Pastry Arts, at the Culinary Institute of America. Find out more in her book, Baking an Impact (CIA Press).