Hotels have always been obsessed about food.

After all, the hallmark of a good hotel is often the presence of iconic restaurants or lavish banquets that symbolise their commitment to guest satisfaction. However, this gastronomic focus has also led to a staggering amount of waste.

On a global scale, approximately one-third of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste, with wealthier countries contributing even more to this alarming statistic, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. If food waste was a country, it would rank as the third-biggest producer of carbon emissions in the world, after the US and China.

Fortunately, a wave of conscientious hotels across Asia are redefining their food obsession in another way – by curbing their appetite for excesses and tackling waste head-on.

From installing on-site food digestors to organic fertiliser to upcycling watermelon rinds, these hotels are becoming more serious and creative in their endeavours to eliminate food waste in cool ways.

Advocates against food waste: Greenview’s Eric Ricaurte, Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay’s Melvin Lim, The Athenee Hotel’s Choo Leng Goh.

You are what you measure

Eric Ricaurte, Founder of Greenview, a consultancy specialising in sustainability programmes for the hospitality sector, underscores the importance of measurement in improvement.

As hotels adopt sustainable practices, he observes that the areas of food procurement, waste reduction and planning have emerged as pivotal battlegrounds for conscientious properties looking to move the sustainability needle beyond single-use plastics and recycling programmes.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay stands as an example, which is dubbed a ‘garden in a hotel’ with its double-glazed glass skylight and an indoor sky-lit atrium home to over 2,400 plants. Thanks to its 210 rooftop solar panels that generate over 350kwh of renewable energy per day, which powers the hotel’s 13 lifts and emergency lightings, the 583-room hotel has curtailed its overall electrical usage by 1.4%.

However, General Manager Melvin Lim believes that more can be done to address food waste for Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay, working together with Sustainability Director Elaine Chan and Executive Chef Chan Tuck Wai to look at ways to creatively address the issue of food waste.

“We conduct monthly food waste audits to identify areas for improvement. We also track all discarded food quantities to measure progress and ensure the reduction or maintenance of food waste figures,” shares Lim.

The Winnow Project adopted by Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong utilises AI-powered technology to monitor food waste management.

In addition, Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay has installed food waste digesters to break down waste into liquid that can be safely disposed through the waste pipes, while surplus food is distributed internally to associates to minimise wastage.

It’s a similar story at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG), where Director of Sustainability, Global Development Iris Lam – who herself boasts an extensive F&B background – collaborates with key stakeholders and executive chefs across the Hong Kong-based group to redefine sustainability strategies.

These include partaking in the Winnow Project, utilising AI-powered technology to monitor food waste management at the group’s flagship property, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.

At The Athenee Hotel in Bangkok, surplus fruits and vegetable trimmings are turned into jam.

Big in flavours, low on waste

With the direct involvement of the hotel kitchens in minimising waste, menus take a creative spin as chefs look at new ways to repurpose leftover food instead of throwing them out.

At The Athenee Hotel in Bangkok, chefs’ culinary ingenuity come in the form of homemade jam turned from surplus fruits and vegetable trimmings, flavourful stocks churned from meat processing, and even candles crafted from bacon fat.

Meanwhile, Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay turns watermelon rinds into double-boiled soups, stir-fried with other vegetables, or stewed to make kueh pie tee in replacement of turnips. Beef trimmings are braised to make pasta ragu sauce, or used as toppings on braised beef tarts, and fillings for beef quesadillas.

In Hong Kong, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental’s contemporary fine dining restaurant Amber – which has a Michelin Green-star status – teams up with local brewery Young Master to ferment amber dark toast wild ale from upcycled, overtoasted sourdough bread, inspired by the Lambic-style beers from Belgium. Only 360 bottles have been produced and each bottle is exclusively numbered.

“Something that could have been discarded is now purposeful, and in a circular way we create a new product that’s of interest to our guests,” Lam explains.

Live cooking stations at Momentus Hotel Alexandra’s buffets contribute to better portion and quality control.

Buffets go on a diet

Understanding the diner psychology has helped to curb food waste for guests’ favourite institution: the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Momentus Hotel Alexandra in Singapore adopts a curated presentation approach to buffets, navigating the fine balance between offering variety and avoiding over-provisioning. While a plethora of delectable choices await diners for its weekend buffet dinners at Verandah Rooftop Rotisserie, only the salad and seafood bar, soups, artisanal breads and sweets displayed on the self-service line.

To control portion size and maintain food quality, chefs at the live action kitchen carve rotisserie chicken and grills beef ribeye and wagyu tomahawk a la minute, while the kitchen sends out freshly cooked delights, such as grilled octopus and fish en papillote, from the a la carte selection upon diners’ request.

Smaller plates and bowls are now used at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay’s Peppermint buffet. “Our serving wares used come in multiple sizes, which requires us to constantly top up with freshly cooked dishes,” Lim explains. “This gives guests the impression that the food would never run out as well, and guests would not rush to overly stack their plates with food.”

Even a simple measure like switching from a traditional chafing dish system to the EcoBurner system, a new line of waterless and cableless chafing dishes, has helped Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay saved a total of 14,400 litres of water, prevented 2,738kg of waste from going to the landfill, and reduced carbon emission by 12 tonnes in 2022.

Gone are the days when luxury is equated with decadence. “Quality goes hand in hand with sustainability, and having less waste is part of the value proposition,” says MOHG’s Lam, noting that today’s well-informed guests are increasingly prioritising quality over quantity.

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay turns watermelon rinds into kueh pie ti, a local dish usually stuffed with carrot and turnip.

Make food, not waste

Armed with the understanding of food wastage, hotels are now planning the menus ahead to identify and anticipate future food waste.

Proactive menu planning emerges as a powerful tool against food waste. Moreover, Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay’s 150 sqm rooftop urban garden is a fertile ground of inspiration and source of ingredients for upcoming menus to align with festive seasons or promotions.

“When we plan our menus months in advance, we can anticipate the vegetables, fruits, herbs, and edible flowers that we require, and we will work closely with our Urban Farmers to grow our needs at their farm in advance. When we are ready to launch the new menus, our Urban Farmers will transplant all that have been grown to our Urban Farm. We only grow and harvest what we need. This has helped us reduce food waste too.”

Better planning of meals, according to Lim, has also helped reduce food waste to less than 12% at Peppermint. The hotel’s procurement team actively sources ingredients from local producers, including eggs from N&N Agriculture, sustainably farmed barramundi from Kuhlbarra, and vegetables, herbs, and fruits from Edible Garden City, a pioneering social enterprise that champions food resilience in Singapore.

Mandarin Oriental, Guangzhou partners with local bee farms to supply natural honey to its restaurants

Sustainable procurement

Over in Bangkok, The Athenee Hotel’s general manager Choo Leng Goh spearheads the property’s commitment to a procurement system that “source ingredients with care”, placing emphasis on items that are both sustainable and locally produced. For instance, the hotel sources organic rice directly from the Satjatham organic rice farm in Amnat Charoen Province, located in Northeastern Thailand.

“This not only guarantees a stable income for the farmers but also empowers them to become landowners, breaking free from the cycle of debt often associated with traditional farming practices,” says Goh.

“Simultaneously, by incorporating this locally sourced, organic rice into our menus, we provide our guests and associates with nourishing, wholesome options. This approach echoes our commitment to not just culinary excellence but also the well-being of our local communities.”

Seafood sourcing remains one of the most challenging areas in procurement, Lam admits, but the Mandarin Oriental Group has taken an active stance to avoid 19 endangered seafood types as aligned with the WWF, constantly working with its suppliers to ensure responsibly sourced groupers and sea cucumbers in its Chinese restaurants.

Ultimately, key indicators of a hotel with rigorous green efforts will be its ability to support its claims through sustainability reports and environmental management certification, as well as having all levels of staff, from top executives right down to frontline and service, engaged and are keenly able to share about the hotel’s sustainability efforts, according to Ricaurte.