The art of circular eating

The origins of the circular approach in the kitchen

Olindo Guerrini in “The art of using leftovers from the cafeteria“, a thoroughly anti-waste cookbook published in 1918 (Guerrini, 1918), argues how important it is to “knowing how to prepare leftovers in a way that is still presentable and edible.” and how it is possible to recreate with them “a healthy, nutritious and often appetizing dish.” (Guerrini, 1918). More than a century later, this topic resonates with such exceptional topicality that publications about it increase exponentially from year to year. It can definitely be called a rideable wave that of the trend regarding circularity in the kitchen. However, we have evidence that the dynamics we now connote with the term no waste , borrowed from the Anglo-Saxon language, actually already belong to our most ancestral peasant tradition developed well before authors like Guerrini decided to make it the subject of editorial publications.

In fact, some of the dishes that have become iconic in the Italian territory were created according to the dictates of the need not to waste leftovers. Just think of the Piedmontese Ravioli del Plin , dating back to the twentieth century as an egg pasta dish filled with meat and vegetables from the day before. Or to the very famous Meatballs , a dish that originated in Roman times using leftover boiled meat from various cuts of different animals.

Related to this is the interesting definition of “ peasant bricolage ” coined by Lévi-Strauss in 1962 (Lévi-Strauss, 1962), which designates all those anthropological dynamics “of traditional societies of operating on material and immaterial knowledge by creatively recombining it” (Fassio et al., 2020). These, are based on the traditional knowledge and ability historically belonging to women to rethink waste and leftovers into dishes with circular characteristics.

Such behaviors reflect an intrinsic respect for the food matter, certainly also influenced by economic constraints, to which, however, are linked concepts of awareness and emotional connection to the food. (Fassio et al., 2020)

And it is precisely the desire to enhance the product and employ it in its entirety that characterizes another publication worth mentioning that has contributed to the creation of a national culinary identity: “Science in the kitchen and the art of eating well“ (Artusi, 1891) by Pellegrino Artusi. This is a collection consisting of traditional preparations in which even less noble parts and salvaged leftovers are reworked and made tasty. In fact, thanks to a dissertation conducted at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo (Cortona, Fassio, 2019), it was highlighted that as many as 632 of the 790 recipes present circularity dynamics towards waste or surplus, a symptom that circular cooking is present in the roots of traditional Italian cuisine.

Current exponents and the role of the university of gastronomic sciences

But let us come to the present day. Given the state of the global ecological crisis, it might be appropriate in some cases for innovation to sit at the table of tradition, with the aim of regenerating good habits that restore value to food. This is where the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo comes in again, which through its participation in numerous international projects is developing a clear circular vision of the agribusiness sector (Circular Economy for Food). In particular, going into the area of food preparation, thanks to the Pollenzo Food Lab, the University’s culinary research and innovation laboratory, new applied models and techniques aimed at preventing and reducing food waste are being developed and tested in different contexts, from school canteens to traditional catering.

In fact, while the circular approach has largely characterized the domestic sphere, the demands of urgency and relevance related to the impact of cooking on waste generation now demand the full involvement of commercial and mass catering actors. More and more people in the culinary world are making personal efforts to apply consumer awareness and production process review strategies. Beginning with Ben Shewry and Dan Barber, the stated commitment to waste reduction has spread to the point that it has characterized the entire work of chefs such as Douglas McMaster in Restaurant Silo London. In Italy, the network of cooks and chefs brought together by the “Recovery Times” project gives the dimension of the ubiquity of the phenomenon.

But although the names of chefs and cooks are different and from different nations, and agree on the logic of no waste, there is still no real literature on the subject. In the next installments of this column on “Circular Cuisine” then, we will go into detail about the guidelines that the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo is developing that refer to the model of the 3Cs of the Circular Economy for Food : Capital , Cyclicality e Coevolution (Fassio et al., 2021).Thanks to this new pollen model, we can identify the importance of dynamics holistic that characterize food design as rightly reminded by the Pollenzo Food Lab: ” The starting point is related to value attribution: we need to start thinking of the raw materials we choose and purchase as resources for which we are responsible , not only economically but also from an environmental and social point of view. If we have this awareness, everything else is no longer frightening: you don’t need superfine culinary skills but rather the enthusiasm of experiment and a good dose of creativity hungry for stimuli, whether inspired by tradition or contemporary.”