Cook with waste? Get to know Saya, the restaurant that is committed to sustainable and zero-waste cooking

We propose you to carry out an experiment: go to your kitchen, open the garbage can and check what is inside. Maybe some overripe fruit? Shells or stems? These, and other inputs, could be reused and made the most of to avoid wasting food, most of which comes from homes.

The zero waste trend, as part of the concept of healthy cooking, is spreading more and more restaurants as a way to help combat and reduce the impact generated on the environment. Regarding Earth Day, we visited Saya’s kitchen, which seeks the best use of its supplies and waste.

Where one sees leftovers, chef David Mayorga sees opportunity. With a bit of creativity (and technique), he grates the citrus peels and incorporates them into salads, giving them a crunchy and aromatic touch; the remains of beetroot (or other input), he turns them into pulp and mixes them with butter to give it another flavor.

“[El residuo cero] It is to take advantage of 100%, without waste. Shrinkage management is important. We try not to lose. I want the garbage can to come out with the minimum and make the most of it on the plate”, explains the cook who manages to reuse up to 80% of the supplies. Either as decoration in the dishes of the day, to give soups more flavor, to incorporate into creams or sauces, etc.

In less than 5 minutes, he gives us a variety of tips on how to reuse supplies: “if you want to take advantage of products such as celery leaves or fish skin, add them to a broth. Once you’ve made good use of them, delete them. With the very ripe banana I make puree and use it in pancakes. I dehydrate the skin of the carrot and grind it into a powder to return as a seasoning in the salad or main dish. With the rice from the bottom of the pot, I make rice paper as decoration”.

In Saya’s menu, these details are present both on the menu and on the dish of the day. For example, in the bacon with arracacha, in which he uses rice paper and quinoa, as well as a sauce made from different bits of tomatoes. He also presented us with a quinoa salad, in which he includes the tomato seed (instead of removing it), beet greens and a kind of coriander aioli. Be careful, this last one is the dish of the day, of which a maximum of 15 are prepared since Mayorga considers it “a fresh plus that I make for the diner, thinking about what I have and what is on the market.” In the restaurant, which belongs to Manto Hotel Lima M-Gallery, they also seek sustainability by stopping using plastics.

According to the United Nations (UN), sustainable gastronomy refers to the promotion and promotion of environmentally responsible food consumption. Among its characteristics are the reduction of waste, respect for seasonal products, the promotion of fair trade, among others.

For Saya’s chef, sustainability in the kitchen has three pillars: social, cultural and economic. It is a commitment linked to the resource, since it involves both respecting the closed seasons and working with the supplier to offer other alternatives if an input is scarce or its price skyrockets. Finally, it is about “taking better care of resources and thank God that in Peru we have seasonal products that must be bought with honesty and respect.”

And at home, how else can I look for sustainability in the kitchen? David Mayorga advises putting together a list to buy just enough. Some people get excited about promotions and buy more, but this can be expensive. The chef recommends acquiring what is necessary to use it according to the day. “You have to be aware, in the end you are going to throw it away. Take care of what enters your family warehouse. If you are organized and with a good list, I think there will be less garbage to eliminate ”, he points out. If you still have doubts, he looks at the bin and thinks it’s money thrown away. Your vision changes right?