Pop up dining for good
The Gazpacho shooters had flowers in them. Â “We tried to use everything in the garden,” Chef Miguel Valdez of the Red Door said, “And what doesn’t get used goes into compost.”
I have to admit my tummy recoiled a bit when told that the pop up dinner would be made of ‘left overs.’ We arrived for the second seating and as earlier guests exited they were smiling. Thumbs up on the Gazpacho especially. My appetite revived.
The night was inspired from its inception. Re:Source, an intiative of the San Diego Food System Alliance, sponsored this first of a series of local, pop up dinners. Some of San Diego’s top chefs are using their creativity to transform ignored or un-coveted food that would otherwise end up in landfills. Other cities are hosting these and San Diego has several scheduled (see below.)
Elly Brown, of the San Diego Food System Alliance, is dedicated to building a food waste resource for people. She spoke briefly about Collard Greens and Kale which are from the same plant that grows Broccoli Weeds, another tasty green that never makes it into our stores. “People don’t realize that it’s delicious.” she said, holding a bunch as if it were a wedding bouquet. It was in our pesto.
This is the beginning of something big. Re:Source aims to:
- Raise awareness of the staggering volume of food that is being wasted
- Inspire new applications for overlooked by-products of our food system
- Re-define food waste as an important resource
Opah fish is another under-utilized food and abundant locally. It’s firm with a mild, delicious flavor. One course featured Opah ‘tri-tip’ ground into meatballs and served atop a beet pulp/carrot top pesto, with smoked carrots, sauteed greens and a sprinkling of feta cheese. You would never have guessed they were fish meat balls!
Libations flowed through the evening, again using un-coveted or ‘ugly’ fruits and herbs. We enjoyed a Honey champagne cocktail with our salad. White and then red sangria followed with different courses.
“Chefs are becoming mindful of all that they source,” said Chef Valdez. He knows it too well from having to watch the bottom line. Tom and Trish Watlington, owners of the Red Door, have been encouraging. Since the Red Door was founded, they have have been supplementing menus with plants from a plot in El Cajon and bringing the harvest into their restaurant. Big into composting, they are also working on closing the loop with other chefs to do more of the same.
Turning empty lots into profitable plots
Supervisor Ron Roberts is part of the coalition behind the San Diego urban agricultural initiative. Land owners can now create income from blighted spaces and local kids will see that not all food comes wrapped in plastic. The initiative also creates jobs, provides savings in property taxes and beautifies neighborhoods.
Find out more about the RE:Source pop up and other un-waste events:
- San Diego Food Alliance Events
- National Food Waste Summit – Sponsored by Campus Kitchens
- BIOCYCLE WEST COAST16 Connecting the dots between Progressive Organics Recycling and Climate Resilient Policies and Successful Program Execution
- The San Diego Food Alliance is supported by Leah’s Pantry, using nutrition to promote healthier lives and prevent disease for under-served populations.
- Not in San Diego? Get involved in other Food System Alliance programs.
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Good suggestion to turn empty lots into something profitable. This is a good initiative to raise awareness. I think we need it here also, in the Philippines.
It should be a way forward for all of us. Less waste and more food for all! I’ll be in the Philippines soon and would love to connect.
Will be in San Diego in June and will definitely check this out! Do you live in the area? Hope we can meet!
I’d love to meet when you get to San Diego. Send contact info and let’s make that happen. I’m in town most of the month.
I love this concept and wish more people would think before throwing something out 🙂
Not just throw out underutilized food but the ‘imperfect’ foods that don’t often sell and are just fine for eating.
This looks like a fantastic restaurant! I love that they try to use everything in the garden and that they focus on reducing food waste and that they try to find new ways of using different foods. Everything you had sounds delicious, too! Great find!
Thanks, Jenna. That dinner was full of surprises. I’m looking forward to seeing how the next few are handled by different chefs too.
I love this concept! I wonder if they will have pop-ups in New York City, I would love to attend
Keep an eye out. I’m sure that NYC has food conservation dinners somewhere.
What a great initiative! Reducing food waste is such a worthy cause. I might only suggest not using the word leftover. It conjures the image that I am eating food already eaten by others. The explanation of using unwanted or ignored foods is far more palatable.
You’re right, Jackie. That was the word a friend used when describing the event. Should add quotes to the statement.
I have to say, fish meat balls don’t sound all that appetizing, but they LOOK great! I would love to try them out at one of these events.
Guess I can see what you mean. I’d eaten them before so knew what I was in for. Opah is an amazing fish that I hope more people discover.
Sounds like a great and incredibly inspiring idea! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Truly eye (and jaw) opening. I hope to attend more.
What a great initiative! There is so much food being wasted and innovative concept like these are definitely an excellent way of promoting awareness!
The world needs to be more conscious about our consumption on so many levels. Hopefully efforts like this and all the people it takes to make them successful will continue till they’re no longer out of the ordinary.
I love, love, LOVE that the meals were created using left overs, amazing what one can do huh? I am an ambassador for OzHarvest, a food collection service that deliver food to homeless shelters etc, its so fantastic to see chefs and restauranteurs get on board with keeping food out of landfill and proving that even the ugly fruit and veg can be better utilised. Great post!
Honey champagne cocktails sound divine too.
Congratulations on being part of OZHarvest. In my banquet server days it was disheartening to see how much good, truly delicious, food was thrown out. The systems need to be in place and you’re making that happen. Kudos. Yes too, the honey champagne was incredibly tasty and not overly sweet – A great complement to the salad.
What a great concept. I think would have been skeptical when I first heard about it too – but from your photo’s there is nothing to worry about. Great way to raise awareness on the mass amount of food that goes to waste each day.
Our species, especially in the developed world, needs to find ways to better utilize our resources. Eating well, completely is an important key. Hopefully you’ll find a similar event or organization to support too.
This is a great idea. Here in the UK where I live, there is a similar movement to lower waste – Jamie Oliver (the celebrity chef) is leading the charge publicly. It’s such an important topic and one we forget so easily in day to day life!
Hooray for the UK and for Jamie Oliver! We all need to eat what we need and fully use what we’re so fortunate to have.
Such a fabulous initiative and event – really good way to raise awareness for wastefulness. Because it is so prominent and I don’t think people realize how much does actually just go to waste. It’s quite inspiring that there are people waning to make a change 🙂
I was definitely inspired and will be looking for more ways to support this awareness. Hope you can find a way to do so too.
What an interesting and inspiring event. I love the idea of the Opah “meatballs.” They sound delicious.
Juicy inside, just crispy enough outside. I hope you get a chance to taste for yourself one day!
I am so inspired by this. I am really committed to food security and reducing food waste. This looks like it is creating amazing food and reshaping people’s perceptions about food.
I agree that it’s important that we learn to use all our food and reduce waste. Plus there’s lots of room for creativity.
What a great event. Love seeing products being re-used and waste reduced. Just attended a similar event in San Francisco. Hopefully, this becomes much more widespread. Thanks for sharing this initiative.
I’m with you and hope this develops so we don’t find it out of the ordinary!
What a fantastic and inspiring project!!
I’m glad you think so Krista. I was surprised and inspired. Hopefully these types of events will become more popular across the country.
Wow, that is such a good idea, I’m really impressed, even though I would have been scared to go to it as well.
I knew it was going to be an amazing meal having enjoyed the chef’s work before and knowing several of the source companies. It’s just not the first thing one thinks of when going out to eat!! We need to get over that and use our food more wisely. I’m hoping this will be a creative trend!
What an excellent initiative! Would love to check this out next time I’m in San Diego.
I hope you get a chance when you return, Jen.