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April 22, 2025
Chefs share their tips for kitchen sustainability
Five ways you can go green in the kitchen with ease
by Kristen Wile
On Earth Day, we’re reminded of the importance of making changes to our habits to be kinder to our planet. The kitchen is an easy place to start — removing food waste from landfills can have a significant impact on the amount of greenhouse gases released into the environment.
Here, industry professionals share some of their top tips for sustainability in the kitchen.
Chef Craig Barbour, Roots
His tip: Master leftovers.
“Plan your meals in advance so you can use or make room for whatever is leftover from your previous meal into your next one. Start with basic meals first – starch, protein, veggie – and then later in the week, plan for stir fry or paella or pasta where you can use what’s left (and add as needed).”
Cat Carter, L’Ostrica
Her tip: Learn to grow things yourself.
“Start a small herb garden. It’s rewarding, fresher tasting, avoids waste, and eliminates the need for that (annoying) plastic packaging.”
Chef Christa Csoka, The Artisan’s Palate
Her tip: Buy one in-season, local ingredient and use it multiple ways.
“For example, if it’s strawberries, I get several pints and make multiple things out of them. First, I would make sure to leave some for snacking, but then would make a strawberry syrup or cordial (for the bar), a strawberry vinaigrette, strawberry preserves, and then a quart of strawberry purée. I just purée it with a little water and then freeze. Then you can pull it from the freezer to use later for additional cordials or vinaigrettes, etc. — so no waste. This can be done with many ingredients. I like doing this because it gives you that seasonal flavor for a little longer, too. I take the green parts of ramps and purée them and then freeze to use for chimichurri or pesto far past ramp season.”
Chef Matt Martin, Freshlist
His tip: Eliminate waste at the start
“Write your meal plan ahead of time, so you know exactly what you need to order.”
Chef Kendall Moore, Spaghett
His tip: Save leftover herbs and citrus peels for later use.
“Blanch and purée your herbs and freeze them in ice trays to make green herby sauces when your herbs are going bad. Also, save your citrus peels and dry them out in the oven at 115°F or the warm setting to add to water later for flavored water or sauces.”
