Page 19 - Delicious - UK (February 2020)

making a difference.

Doug McMaster has pioneered sustainable dining in upcycled surroundings, with menus that change according to available ingredients

Meet the man who runs

a restaurant without a bin

Chef and restaurateur Doug McMaster has blazed a trail for the zero-waste movement. His
restaurant, Silo, has an innovative and inspiring approach to food, farming and fermentation

e may not be a household name the pail, is used to churn butter and make waste I’ve seen is criminal,” says Doug.
– yet – but Doug McMaster has yogurt – cheaper than buying the finished “But with imagination and intelligence we
Hbeen instrumental in getting products. Flour is milled on-site and can turn it into a precious end product.”
across the zero-waste message, inspiring bread baked in-house. The daily menu The United Nations is calling on the
esteemed chefs such as Dan Barber of Blue is projected onto the wall (no paper) industry to halve food waste per capita by
Hill at Stone Barns in New York State and and changes are made in real time as 2030, and WRAP says achieving this goal
Christian Puglisi of Relæ in Copenhagen. ingredients run out. “It’s an evolving, would deliver an annual reduction in UK
Disrupting restaurant norms is breathing, living menu,” Doug explains. farm-to-fork food waste of 3.5 million
McMaster’s stock in trade. And the food? “It’s true to the supply chain and the tonnes, saving £10 billion of food a year. It
Dishes such as shiitake mushrooms with hasn’t been easy but, encouragingly, Doug
dumplings and mustard taste as good as With imagination, says the ideals he’s been seeking – such as
they sound – and they look beautiful, too. we can turn waste into sourcing produce without packaging and
Back in 2012, Doug, who’s worked at a precious product direct delivery – are becoming less of
St John and The Fat Duck, was challenged a challenge. “To be able to cook and serve
WORDS: LAURA DAY. PHOTOGRAPHS: CLARE LEWINGTON, MATT RUSSELL
to run a pop-up restaurant without a bin. reality of what’s come from the ground food the same day it’s picked is amazing.
While making shortbread, he realised he’d that day.” Everything is used: they make We’re a drop in the ocean, but hopefully
need to source the raw, unpackaged miso from potato skins, and vegetable we contributed to that shift.”
ingredients directly from farmers. “It was treacle (which Doug says tastes like hoisin
the most delicious shortbread I’ve ever sauce) from veg trimmings. The restaurant TRY IT FOR YOURSELF
eaten,” says Doug. Two years later, he weighs everything and uses a formula Silo (silolondon.com) is open for dinner
opened Silo in Brighton with the same for serving sizes. Any food scrapings are from Tuesday to Sunday, with a brunch
zero-waste ethos. sent for composting at a supplier farm. menu at weekends. For any restaurant
The restaurant, which moved to Hackney “Waste is a failure of the imagination, keen to explore direct supply chains,
in east London in 2019, works directly because we haven’t had enough vision and Doug uses and recommends the
with its suppliers. Food is delivered in creativity to find a solution,” asserts Doug. Foodchain app (joinfoodchain.com),
glass or paper packaging and the furniture According to the government’s Waste and which connects chefs with producers.
is made from recycled materials. This Resources Action Programme (WRAP), To find out more about Doug’s philosophy,
sourcing method makes financial as well £3 billion in food is thrown away yearly read his book, Silo: The Zero Waste
as environmental sense. Milk, bought by by the food service industry. “Some of the Blueprint (Leaping Hare Press £20).

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