Celebrity chef urges Londoners to bin less food this Christmas
5 December 2008
Recent
research shows that every year in London, we bin £1.8 million worth of
turkey, 41,000 tonnes of potatoes, and £4.5 million worth of sweets and
chocolates. This is made up of food we buy, but do not eat.
And
it is not just Christmas dinner favourites which get wasted - every
year in London we spend on £12 million on sausages, £11 million on
bacon and £14 million on tomatoes that never get eaten. That’s a pretty
expensive fry up!
This Christmas, the Love Food Hate Waste
campaign urges all Londoners to be food winners, not food wasters, by
reducing the amount of food you have to throw away. Not only will this
lessen the load on your wallet, but it also really helps the
environment, and can save you time too.
You can uses the Love Food Hate Waste
Portion Planner to ensure you buy, and cook the right amount for your Christmas entertaining.
Celebrity
chef Ainsley Harriott is aiming to eat like a king over Christmas, but
also to cut down on the amount of food he throws away.
“Christmas
is a time for indulgence but it’s very easy to find you’ve cooked a
little too much,” he explains. “If we get our portions right, we not
only help the environment, we can keep money in our pockets for the New
Year sales!”
“If you do happen to have any food left over, or in
the fridge, then make sure you put it to good use and make some tasty
soups or Boxing Day salads,” adds Ainsley.
Other top tips to reduce your Christmas food waste include:
- Forward
plan, and make a list before your big Christmas shop – this will stop
you over-buying and ensures you buy exactly what you need
- Freeze leftover food so you have tasty treats for lunch when you return to work/school after the festive season
- Compost your food waste, Christmas tree and holly
- Check out lovefoodhatewaste.comfor tasty ways to use up leftovers. Stray slivers of smoked salmon can
cheer up your Boxing Day eggs, and leftover stilton can be popped in
the freezer to use another time