Baldor Supports a Zero Waste Dinner

On Thursday, April 26^th, 2018, Baldor Specialty Foods took on the challenge of creating a zero waste event. Thomas McQuillan, Director of Food Service Sales and Sustainability, at Baldor was the driving force behind the first ever zero waste fundraising dinner, held in Greenwich, Connecticut. This event brought together members of the community as well as business professionals, culinarians, and academics all working in the food industry to deliver this inaugural event.

More than three hundred attendees enjoyed a four course meal prepared by Greenwich based celebrity chefs. Each chef embraced the challenge of sourcing, cooking, and serving a meal waste-free and created a menu using food that would otherwise be wasted. For example, the main course was a fish cake made with unused cuts of fish from Gotham Seafood and the dessert was a yogurt parfait made with yogurt deemed too thick to use in production. The food was served in traditional Indian tiffins, three tiered metal food carriers that the guests took home with them.  

The night showcased a number of local vendors on a mission to reduce food waste from farm to fork. Toast Ale beer, made using leftover bread and Asarasi water made with leftover water from maple syrup production were served along with SparCs infused pineapple and strawberry water. 

Zero waste didn’t stop in the kitchen. Every component of the event-from the table centerpieces to the serve ware-was repurposed. 

The event highlighted the gravity of our nation’s food waste problem and exposed the social, environmental, and economic impact of wasting forty percent of the food we produce. Guest’s walked away informed about this issue and energized to initiate change both on an individual and community level. 

Zero Waste, 2018 was a huge success. We proved that hosting a dinner for 300 people waste free can be done, it just takes some planning, creativity, and a change in mindset.