Determination of food waste from Michelin star restaurants and use in bread production with different techniques

Evaluating food waste from a sustainability perspective and exploring how it can be transformed in gastronomy is crucial, especially considering global food waste statistics. Food waste causes significant environmental and economic losses, and sustainable gastronomy trends offer valuable solutions to address this issue. Michelin-starred restaurants, as leaders in this field, are focused on developing sustainable and eco-friendly practices. This study concentrates on commonly wasted food types, especially essential foods like bread. Research shows that efforts to reduce food waste are often supported by various culinary techniques and recycling strategies. Accordingly, the study aims to investigate the use of waste in bread-making to help reduce waste. Specifically, it seeks to identify the food waste generated in Michelin-starred restaurants, explore how it can be repurposed, and develop a sustainable kitchen approach by creating different types of bread from this waste. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted in the research. First, interviews were held with chefs from 10 Michelin starred and Michelin listed restaurants to identify the most commonly produced types of food waste. The Maxqda software program was used to analyze this data. Based on the findings, bread was produced by incorporating powders and purees made from food waste through four different cooking techniques. These bread samples, prepared with added food waste using various methods, were evaluated by expert panelists through sensory analysis and paired comparison tests. Sensory analysis data were processed using SPSS 25.0 software to perform descriptive statistics and comparisons. The results showed that food waste could be successfully incorporated into bread through various cooking techniques and that these breads were acceptable in sensory evaluations. The chefs interviewed indicated that peels from fruits and vegetables, particularly from citrus fruits like lemons, oranges, and limes, were among the most common types of waste. Consequently, orange and lemon peels were selected as the waste types for this research. The analysis results showed that the KSP (Stewing Orange Peel) product stood out as the best bread. The KSP product also performed well in sensory evaluations and was found to be successful in many aspects. The study concluded with numerous recommendations for developing practices aligned with sustainable gastronomy and zero-waste kitchen principles. In conclusion, several recommendations were made to support the development of sustainable gastronomy and zero-waste kitchen practices.