Highland Perthshire 'MasterChef'!

Food waste is becoming an increasingly important issue that needs to be tackled. In Scotland, the latest figures suggest that households are wasting over a million tonnes of food and drink each year! I’m definitely guilty of this and I often find myself putting on too much pasta while cooking, or ordering too much from the Indian because my eyes are always bigger than my belly!

Perth & Kinross’ recycling rates are actually well above the national average (well done everyone!) but that hasn’t stopped people from coming up with new creative ways to reduce waste.

In Highland Perthshire, there is a new competition starting this Wednesday to crown a local ‘MasterChef’, but there’s a catch. Each contestant must create delicious and appealing dishes using commonly wasted ingredients! All of the ingredients will be provided, and in front of live audiences the chefs will need to come up with wonderful and original recipes using the limited resources available.

The competition will run over four Wednesday’s at Café Calluna in Pitlochry and anybody over 18 can enter. The prize for the winner is dinner for two and a night’s stay at the Townhouse Hotel & Restaurant in Aberfeldy – a tasty reward for being crowned Highland Perthshire’s ‘MasterChef’!

The head chef at the Townhouse, Lee Patrick, is part of the judging panel and he is thoroughly excited about the competition.

“There is no good reason why so much food is thrown out every day and this competition will prove that. Our MasterChef will be someone with courage and imagination who can recreate delicious dishes I’d be happy to serve in the Townhouse!

It all kicks off on Wednesday at 7PM and whether you want to take part in the competition or just watch, everyone is encouraged to get along and get some tips on how to limit food waste. It’s absolutely free to attend, and soft drinks, cakes and snacks will be available to buy too. You’re also invited to bring along your own reusable bottle.

Fiona McBain, Zero Waste Coordinator for Perth & Kinross, wants people to come along and pick up tips but also have a lot of fun in the process.

“Everyone has some food waste – even if it’s just teabags and vegetable peelings, and this can be recycled via the brown-lidded bin or home composted. But it’s the avoidable waste we want to tackle. Picking up some simple tips can save your household money, as well as having huge environmental benefits.

We’re definitely going to have some fun with the ‘MasterChef’ competition, but we will also use the opportunity for group discussions around ways to reduce food waste such as planning ahead, making shopping lists, understanding date labels, storing food better, portion control and using up leftovers.

Each week we’ll have competitions within the competition so everyone can get involved and win prizes!”

Throwing away perfectly good food can cost the average household in Scotland £460 per year – that’s a holiday in the sun! This is according to the Love Food, Hate Waste campaign who state that approximately £70million in fresh fruit, £90million in bakery waste, £93million in dairy waste and a whopping £130million in fresh fish and meat waste is thrown out in Scotland every year! After seeing these figures, I will definitely be more cautious when it comes to wasting food. I’d rather spend that £460 working on my tan in Mallorca!

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For more information about the MasterChef competition or how you can reduce, reuse and recycle more, contact zerowastecommunity@pkc.gov.uk or call 01738 475289.

Images courtesy of Iain Struthers