The Tierra de Ibiza restaurant hosted the event «From Waste to Taste», which corresponds to the final phase of the European project Zero Waste Chefs EU, an initiative that has lasted two years and has been led by IbizaPreservation together with IES Isidor Macabich and the Tallinna Teeninduskool educational centre in Estonia. At the showcooking event, teachers from both schools made dishes entirely from food that would normally have been discarded.
The activity aimed to raise awareness of wasteful cooking possibilities and share the project's conclusions, which focus on training future chefs in sustainable techniques. «With creativity and training, it is possible to avoid generating waste by making the most of each product», explained Itziar Arratibel, IbizaPreservation's programme director. The project's results and the new Guide of Good Practices for Zero Waste Kitchens were also presented. The guide includes recipes prepared by students, conservation techniques, and tools for use in educational centres and professional kitchens.
During the showcooking, the Isidor Macabich teachers, Juan Tur and Juan Fernández, presented a recipe based on the total use of products: "We closed the kitchen a fortnight ago and with what was left over we made preserves, dehydrated products, pickles.... Nothing has been bought for this dish". Both stressed that, although many of these practices were already part of their teaching, the project has allowed them to organise them better and to deepen their understanding of the zero waste philosophy.
The Estonian teachers emphasised the usefulness of tools such as the waste collection system categorised by type that they observed in Ibiza, saying: «It is an effective way to help students identify what can be reused and what is waste».
IbizaPreservation, which focuses part of its work on the circular economy, has promoted this project to have a direct impact on reducing food waste, especially in strategic sectors such as the hospitality industry. In the European Union, more than 88 million tonnes of food are wasted annually, which is equivalent to around 175 kilos per person. This generates around 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. «It's not just about recycling; it's about better conservation and preventing food from becoming waste prematurely», said Arratibel.