“All Taste, Zero Waste” show: Celebrity chefs against charity chefs battling out to help the planet

A brand new online show called “All Taste, Zero Waste” pitches celebrity chefs against charity chefs battling out to help the planet. The series have been launched by FoodCloud, a non-profit social organisation, in the hopes of raising awareness of the major problem food waste poses in Ireland and around the world.

Each episode features food hero chefs creating unplanned dishes with leftover food provided by FoodCloud’s food industry partners. Mark Moriarty, Jess Murphy, Donal Skehan, Eric Matthews, William Murray, and Holly Dalton share their knowledge and expertise over the course of six episodes.

All Taste, Zero Waste

The chefs give hints and suggestions on how food waste can be reduced and hope to inspire good change in households and professional kitchens around the country.

The project is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Aoibheann O’Brien, FoodCloud’s Co-Founder, hosts the ten-minute episodes which are now available to watch on the FoodCloud’s website.

Episodes

In the first episode, Cook In Chef Mark Moriarty competes against Fionnula O’ Brien, the head chef of Novas Limerick, as the contestants discuss food’s carbon footprint. Conor Spacey, a supporter of the UN Chefs Manifesto and the head chef of FoodSpace, gets to taste and choose the winner.

In the second episode, Jess Murphy, the head chef and founder of the Bib Gourmand-award winning Kai Restaurant, cooks against Erica Long, the chef of the Obair charity, while discussing the importance of sustainability in the Irish food sector. The winner is chosen by Deirdre Ryan of Bord Bia’s Origin Green.

The third episode features Donal Skehan, a TV presenter, food writer, and cookbook author, who meets his match in Janice Down, the head chef of Cheeverstown House. The two contestants cook up some delicious dishes while talking about how to appreciate leftovers and the significance of meal preparation.

Eric Matthews, host of RTÉ Battle of the Food Trucks, competes against Trevor Kearns, head chef at Sophia Housing, in episode four, while discussing the strategies they implement to avoid food waste.

Episode five is all about sustainability talks, in which Currabinny Founder William Murray compete against Purple House Cancer Support’s volunteer chef Gavin Lynch in a cook-off at home.

The last episode features Holly Dalton, founder of Conbini Condiments, competing against Molly Kinanne, a Rainbow Club food hero.

FoodCloud’s mission

FoodCloud is a social enterprise with the mission of raising awareness and tackling the problem food waste poses to the environment. Ireland produces 1.27 million tonnes of food waste each year, with the average family wasting €700 to €1000 worth of food each year.

Global food production accounts for roughly 35% of all greenhouse gas emissions, with food waste accounting for 8% to 10% of total emissions, which is four times that of global aviation emissions.

Reducing food waste has been pointed out as the most efficient means of combating climate change, according to Project Drawdown’s 2020 research report. Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, food waste was controversially ‘frozen’ out of discussions at the recent COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

FoodCloud’s new ‘All Taste Zero Waste’ series seeks to put food waste back on the agenda by highlighting the importance of saving valuable surplus produce from landfill and the positive impact that this will have on the environment.

Commenting on the launch of the ‘All Taste Zero Waste’ series, FoodCloud’s Co-Founder, Aoibheann O’Brien, said:

“Tackling food waste has been ranked by Project Drawdown as the number one solution for reversing climate change. To tackle this critical climate issue, we must first drive awareness of the problem, which is why we are so proud to be launching FoodCloud’s All Taste, Zero Waste content series. We are thrilled that so many celebrity and charity chefs from around Ireland have come together to raise awareness of the issue of food waste in an engaging and entertaining way, and we are grateful to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for the funding to support this important initiative.”