WASTED: A Celebration of Sustainable Food coming to San Diego on October 20th.

Kitchens for Good is making celebrity chefs rethink kitchen waste

SAN DIEGO, October 8, 2019 – Kitchens for Good is thrilled to announce their upcoming event, WASTED: A Celebration of Sustainable Food, on Oct. 20, sponsored by Sysco. This tastemaker event will feature 35 local and national celebrity chefs and mixologists who will be competing to prepare winning dishes and cocktails using food that would otherwise be discarded. The goal of the event is to bring awareness to sustainability for chefs and consumers, creating a call to action about the way people consider food waste. All proceeds will support Kitchens for Good, a non-profit organization that tackles issues of food waste, poverty and hunger.

According to a National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report, approximately 40 percent of edible food ends up in landfills in the United States. Further, nearly one in six San Diegans lacks access to healthy, affordable food, according to a study conducted by Feeding San Diego.

Chefs at the WASTED event will demonstrate ways to turn food waste into inspiring dishes with some rethinking of ingredients and creative cooking. Day-old bread? Turn it into beer. Bruised fruit is great for desserts while savory bites can be concocted using the whole animal or vegetable. Attendees will get to cast their votes to choose the winning dishes in the savory, sweet and cocktail categories.

"The WASTED event and efforts behind Kitchen for Good aligns so perfectly with our intrinsic company values. Our mission with our product line and content is to help people enjoy safe, fresh, longer-lasting food while preventing food waste. We are excited to serve up our killer chocolate chunk walnut banana bread with the peels on, featured in my new book Eat Like You Give a Fork: The Real Dish on Eating to Thrive, using a locally made, small batch, handcrafted bean to bar chocolate called Nibby's. We'll also be serving a warm drink high in Theobromine that uses cocoa bean husks that are normally thrown away." – Chef and Author, Mareya Ibrahim.

Kitchens for Good culinary students, who are gaining employment skills following incarceration, homelessness and/or foster care, will be matched with competing chefs in the preparation of dishes for the event.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for chefs to inspire the public to rethink food-waste, all while raising money and awareness towards an important issue,” said Aviva Paley, Co-Founder and Senior Director of Kitchens for Good. “We’re excited about the lineup of chefs and are thankful for Sysco and their sponsorship.”

WASTED will feature top local and national chefs including Chopped Champion Thiago Silva, Food Network Star Maeve Rochford, Chef Ryan Olrando of International Smoke, Chef Drew Bent of Lola 55, Chef and Author, Mareya Ibrahim and Executive Chef Davin Waite of Wrench and Rodent Seabastropub.

“For the first time ever Chefs have a unique platform to educate and lead by example,” said Waite. “There is a tremendous amount of food waste in our industry. The solution is not only simple and good for the planet but can lead to a more interesting and delicious culinary experience."

There will be live entertainment and a silent auction. Interviews, chef demonstrations and photo/video opportunities are available.

More information about the event, to buy tickets, or become a media sponsor please visit www.wastedcelebration.com.

About Kitchens for Good

Kitchens for Good is a San Diego based non-profit that uses kitchens as a tool to nourish bodies, empower the marginalized, and create economically vibrant communities. Kitchens for Good rescues surplus food that might otherwise go to waste, and turns it into nutritious meals for the hungry, while training men and women previously perceived as unemployable for careers in the culinary industry. This approach addresses the most immediate need of hunger by feeding the food lines, but also helps to shorten the line itself by offering pathways out of poverty for individuals transitioning out of incarceration, homelessness and foster-care. KFG’s ensures its sustainability through a catering and food service enterprises that offers on the job training opportunities for all students, and generates 59% of the organization's budget.