Zero waste, zero hunger

Zero waste is the “in” thing for the food industry. Combating it, however, has always been challenging, and Thai fine dining restaurant Nusara is pushing it in a new direction. 
In collaboration with the Issarachon Foundation, Asia’s No.6 best restaurant will be tackling the restaurant’s food waste. 
“For me, being a chef should be more than just being on lists and getting stars or awards. I am not saying they are not good, recognition is always good. But I want to achieve something more; there needs to be something beyond this. 
“Ten years ago, when I opened Le Du I focused on local ingredients when no one else was doing it in Thailand. People then began talking about sustainability and zero waste, which is good for global warming. But this doesn’t really resonate with me as there is only so much one can achieve with regards to food waste in a fine dining restaurant.
“We, at Nusara chose this particular foundation because they work in the area we are located in. We thought that it would be better to start with our community first. Of course, this area has a lot of homeless people. The foundation distributes food to the homeless every day near Democracy Monument and other areas. We chose them because they are well organised and systematic. So, it is a good start,” says chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn, chef-patron of Nusara.
The Issarachon Foundation is known to work with the less fortunate and homeless individuals in society, especially in Bangkok’s Old Town. The foundation began as a volunteer group in 1996 and was named Issarachon Foundation in 2012. It aims at rehabilitating families, communities and homeless people, talking to them about their mental health, and most importantly, aims at finding ways to improve their quality of life.
Using ingredients leftover from the fine dining menu served at Nusara, chef Ton contributes to the lunchboxes two to three times a month, depending on the demand. “Sometimes the foundation gets donations, so they don’t need us to supply them with food,” he adds. 
Food scraps from dishes like the appetiser of Squid, cucumber and heirloom tomato are turned into Garlic and black pepper fried squid with rice. From the main course, the Green curry, smoked chicken and dumpling contributes to Grilled chicken with rice and Pak kana moo krob with rice or Stir-friend Chinese kale with crispy pork.
Nusara doesn’t just stop at delivering lunchboxes to the homeless, adds Nusara sommelier and managing director and chef Ton’s brother, Chaisiri “Tam” Tassanakajohn. “We also serve lunches to schools for kids in need.”
As the Thai saying goes: “When you do tam boon [merit], you accumulate good karma in the bank account of life.”