Okay, I have a confession: I'm a chronic waster.
Not in the sense that I'm leeching off the state or am off my face all the time (though I do live in Margate, so the danger is always there).
No, in the sense that I waste food - I'll even chuck it out the day BEFORE the use by date because I'm worried it might not be safe. And as for the sniff test, forget it. I gag at the very thought of putting my schnoz near dairy items that might be on the turn.
Fortunately, Adam is usually on hand to save the day (which is probably why he's the one who's had food poisoning three times in the past year, not me, ha ha). But that's not the point. The point is that I like millions of otherwise responsible citizens have a propensity to throw out food that is still perfectly good. And lots of it.
As the Great British Waste Menu (8.30pm, BBC1, 25 August) highlighted, the average UK household throws out £680 worth of food that could be eaten every year. Yet, depressingly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Tasked with conjuring up a banquet for 60 from waste food, the four chefs spent relatively little time rummaging through people's bins and fridges.
There weren't many rich pickings to be had in supermarket bins either. The real gold was struck with food that wasn't 'on trend' such as offal and fruit and veg that didn't conform to strict EU standards, stuff that because of its size or shape was deemed fit only for dogs or pigs. Angela Hartnett was gobsmacked by the quality of the food involved. She wasn't the only one.
It's ludicrous that there's no market for strawberries of less than 25mm or more than 35mm in diameter, or eggs that are smaller (and tastier) than standard. I might be the archetypal fussy consumer when it comes to use-by dates, but I'd happily buy misshapen or smaller-than-average fresh produce.
But would Joe Public? Possibly not, which is why instead of encouraging people to do something to stop food going to waste in the first place, the programme focused on the fab dishes chefs could make with it when it had and not much else.
Given the silly 'Save our Scraps' pledge cards handed out to diners probably ended up the same place as the waste food in the bin this was surely a wasted opportunity.
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Not in the sense that I'm leeching off the state or am off my face all the time (though I do live in Margate, so the danger is always there).
No, in the sense that I waste food - I'll even chuck it out the day BEFORE the use by date because I'm worried it might not be safe. And as for the sniff test, forget it. I gag at the very thought of putting my schnoz near dairy items that might be on the turn.
Fortunately, Adam is usually on hand to save the day (which is probably why he's the one who's had food poisoning three times in the past year, not me, ha ha). But that's not the point. The point is that I like millions of otherwise responsible citizens have a propensity to throw out food that is still perfectly good. And lots of it.
As the Great British Waste Menu (8.30pm, BBC1, 25 August) highlighted, the average UK household throws out £680 worth of food that could be eaten every year. Yet, depressingly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Tasked with conjuring up a banquet for 60 from waste food, the four chefs spent relatively little time rummaging through people's bins and fridges.
There weren't many rich pickings to be had in supermarket bins either. The real gold was struck with food that wasn't 'on trend' such as offal and fruit and veg that didn't conform to strict EU standards, stuff that because of its size or shape was deemed fit only for dogs or pigs. Angela Hartnett was gobsmacked by the quality of the food involved. She wasn't the only one.
It's ludicrous that there's no market for strawberries of less than 25mm or more than 35mm in diameter, or eggs that are smaller (and tastier) than standard. I might be the archetypal fussy consumer when it comes to use-by dates, but I'd happily buy misshapen or smaller-than-average fresh produce.
But would Joe Public? Possibly not, which is why instead of encouraging people to do something to stop food going to waste in the first place, the programme focused on the fab dishes chefs could make with it when it had and not much else.
Given the silly 'Save our Scraps' pledge cards handed out to diners probably ended up the same place as the waste food in the bin this was surely a wasted opportunity.
More from this column
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