Aiming to reduce food waste and encourage more responsible practices in the food service sector, Costa Navarino, in collaboration with the Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation and WWF Greece, today presented in Kalamata the “Food Waste Reduction Guide – A sustainable approach to responsible gastronomy”.
The presentation took place ahead of World Food Day, which is celebrated on 16 October. The guide draws on the experience and practices of Costa Navarino’s chefs, as applied every day in the destination’s restaurants.
According to the announcement, it offers food service professionals practical advice on preventing and reducing food waste at every stage of a professional kitchen’s operations. It also shows how creativity, sound planning and collaboration can help make better use of ingredients without compromising quality or taste.
Its content is based on four strategic pillars: measuring organic waste, making circular use of resources, responsible procurement and inventory management. It also covers training and fostering a shared culture of food waste reduction.
The guide also sets out practices used in Costa Navarino’s food service venues:
- Making the most of ingredients and creatively reusing them, with examples involving vegetables, fruit, fish, meat, patisserie and bakery.
- Coordination between food service outlets to manage and redistribute suitable surplus ingredients more effectively, reducing waste and duplicate preparation.
- Portion and production controls, adjusting preparation to actual demand, planning more effectively based on bookings and reducing leftovers.
- Managing food at events by calculating required quantities more accurately and making use of suitable surplus.
- Circular practices at partner restaurants, including making the most of ingredients, monitoring food waste and adapting daily menus.
During the event, WWF Greece presented data on the scale of food waste and its wide-ranging environmental impacts, noting that an estimated one-third of food produced for consumption—nearly 1.3 billion tonnes a year—ends up as waste. Nikos Billis, Executive Chef at W Costa Navarino, also shared creative techniques and practical examples of making the most of ingredients.
The initiative forms part of Costa Navarino’s broader sustainable development strategy, guided by respect for the natural environment, cultural heritage and local community of Messenia. In gastronomy, Costa Navarino uses systems to record and monitor organic waste, continually improves its inventory management practices and promotes more efficient use of available ingredients. Particular emphasis is placed on working with local producers and suppliers, choosing seasonal ingredients and continuously training employees in responsible practices.
Food waste monitoring systems using artificial intelligence are also being piloted. They enable data to be measured and analysed in real time, helping to identify opportunities to reduce waste further.