Why Food Waste Prevention Beats Food Waste Reduction
CULINARY MECHANIC by Simon Zatyrka
Episode notes
You don't need more prep cooks—you need less waste.
Chef and zero-waste pioneer Vojtech Vegh joins Simon to dismantle the myths around food waste in restaurants. This isn't about compost bins or turning scraps into soup—it's about rethinking your menu planning to design for profit, efficiency, and impact from day one. Vojtech shares how he built a vegan fine dining restaurant with no trash cans, why most food waste "solutions" fail, and how time-starved chefs can actually save hours by shifting their systems, not just their storage bins.
If you're an independent operator chasing consistency and margin in a high-cost world, this episode hits hard.
Topics include: food waste prevention vs. reduction, menu development strategy, systems thinking in kitchen ops, and shift ...