A North Dublin restaurant has given away their top secret on how to avoid food waste in the kitchen.
Ciaran Bolger, who is the second longest serving staff member at 31 Lennox has told how they preventing throwing out unused food saves them money in the long run.
From using up all their food to collecting litter in the area to save wildlife, the staff in Portobello are very passionate about the planet.
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He told Dublin Live: “Our kitchen is very tight with food and our chef is amazing, he produces minimal waste.
"The best way to reduce food waste is to cross over with your menus, we do breakfast and lunch during the week so we’d use the chicken from that for a chicken sandwich or a chicken Caesar salad.
“Waste is easy to manage if you’re transferring it onto another menu. We use what we have in the right quantities.”
The Portobello restaurant is known for its weekend brunch, they serve the likes of Italian Sausage Benedict, Gubbeen Chorizo and Eggs as well as the traditional Irish breakfast.
Ciaran said: “Brunch took over in the last couple of years, people seem to go home and relax after having brunch then go out later on in the evening. The culture change in Dublin is amazing, brunch was more a central European thing.
“We’ve a kids corner on our menu, we’ve goujons with salad or fries, sandwiches and we do a miniature version of our Italian coddle as well.”
Ciaran spoke of the tight knit community in the area and how they work together to keep the place looking good.
He said: “There’s a lot of families around this area with kids. It’s very homely, it’s amazing. I know customers by their first names.
“We opened up in the first lockdown, we got to know the locals in the area by doing takeaway coffee and food. We’ve been through different legislation with indoor and outdoor dining over the last few years. We’re finding our feet now.
“We work with other companies in the area and pick up litter. there’s companies in the area that allocate money to charities every year and we pick up litter to raise it.
“The environment is very important around here. There’s a lot of wildlife around, we’ve lots of ducks and swans here. I see the swans picking rubbish out of the river and things like that.
“There’s a big tidy towns committee here, we give them free tea and coffee after a clean-up.
“You’d be surprised with how much litter there is in Dublin, you see masks everywhere on the ground now.”
You can find 31 Lennox on Instagram here.
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