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I watched a really good episode of chopped. They weren’t actually cooking with garbage, but they made the chefs use foods that an untrained person would throw away.
The appetizer round was herb stems, overripe tomatoes, fish carcass and pickle juice. The main course round of the competition featured wilted carrot, potatoes with eyes, meat trimmings, and Parmesan rind. The dessert round required them to use bread ends, squeezed oranges, used coffee grounds and hardened brown sugar. The whole point of the challenge is to see if these people have the skill to use things that many would waste.
I really love chopped, but I found this to be a really good challenge because it teaches people to have less waste. The judges stated that it’s good for the environment, and they’re right. Plus, too much food is wasted, and too many people are going hungry. The host said that about 40% of all food bought goes in the trash. How messed up is that?
The contestants did very well, and turned these “undesirable” elements into delicious food. It was good to see chefs being encouraged to think outside the box and make use of things that would otherwise go to waste. They had better attitudes about it than I expected. I watched a leftovers episode and the chefs acted very elitist, complaining about having to use “junk” and “trash” to cook. This episode’s contestants seemed more up to the challenge.
I think far too much food goes to waste, especially in the restaurant industry. Chefs want only the best, and everything else goes in the trash. They don’t even have the sense to give it away to a homeless shelter or soup kitchen where it could feed starving people. Hopefully that episode got a few people to think differently and be more creative and responsible with their food.
