Marcus Wareing seeks savings from waste bins
Michelin-starred chef Marcus Wareing has admitted to going through his kitchen bins in an effort to reduce waste.
Speaking at the annual Arena Lecture, which took place at the London Hilton on Park Lane last Thursday (5 February), Wareing said he had introduced "see-through" bin liners to make sure nothing goes to waste.
"In the current economic climate you can't waste anything because every penny counts," he said.
Wareing, chef patron of his eponymous restaurant at the Berkeley hotel in London, added that many customers now placed more importance on value for money than provenance and seasonality.
"Despite the recession people are still dining out but they want to feel that they're being given value for money," he warned. "If they're spending £100 on a meal they want to feel that it was worth it."
Wareing, who split from his mentor Gordon Ramsay last year, relaunched the former Pétrus restaurant as Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley in September.
After retaining his two-Michelin-star status last month, he said he wants to make 2009 the most profitable year yet at the restaurant.
"My target for 2009 is for it to be the most profitable year in the 10 years that I have run restaurant. I will be digging deep into margins while still delivering the two-star experience diners expect and keeping my team in tact."
Wareing advised up and coming chefs to get as much education and management experience as possible on their way up.
"Things have changed since the days when I first started out and in 2009 a chef has to be a different person," he said. "I would advise young chefs to get a degree as well as a catering college qualification and wouldn't advise anyone to become head chef before the age of 30."
- The next Arena event, the Arena Face to Face, will put Patrick Dempsey, managing director of Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants, under the spotlight. It will be held at London's Dorchester hotel on Friday, 3 April. To book your place and for further details on the lecture call Lorraine Wood on 020 3087 2378, e-mail lorraine@arena.org.uk or visit the Arena website at www.arena.org.uk.
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By Kerstin Kühn
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