25/10/2019
Rubbish Cooks is the brainchild of Tristan Welch, chef director at Parker’s Tavern, designed to inspire and educate regarding food waste in the industry.
A major concern of many restaurants and food production companies across the country, Tristan’s new monthly supper club will invite Parker’s Tavern diners to enjoy a ‘free’ three-course menu using ingredients that are usually considered ‘waste’.
At each Rubbish Cooks event, Parker’s Tavern will be serving a meal for a limited number of guests for ‘free’. Guests will only pay £20 per head which will cover service as well as a charitable donation to Jimmy’s Night Shelter, a local Cambridge-based charity close to Tristan’s heart. The menu on Monday (September 30), began with ravioli of brown artichokes, extra mature cheese with under ripe tomato salsa. Highlighting the fact that he was using food that some people may have thrown away, Tristan announced that the cheddar was “past its sell-by-date but not it’s use-by-date.”
The dish was really quite tasty, although I left what I believed to be the yellow tomatoes as I’m not a huge fan. I’m also not really a fan of fish so I was a little apprehensive about the fish soup, cheeks and collars with dented tin beans, but in fact, I very much enjoyed it – the beans giving it at an extra ‘kick’. Next up, was lamb shoulder knuckle with braised baby cabbage and crushed wonky vegetables. “Low and slow” was the way Tristan described the cooking of the lamb and, although lamb isn’t my favourite meat, it did have a pleasant taste to it.
The wonky vegetables – a great concept, highlighting the fact that food shouldn’t get so easily discarded – were good too.
Reviewed by Adrian Peel