During ‘The Ultimate (Zero Waste) Cook-off’ event, these young entrepreneurs shared their zero waste innovations with Chiara and battled it out to reinvent dishes with ingredients valorised from commonly discarded food. These include alternative minced meat upcycled from okara or soy-pulp, flavour catalysts created from discarded leafy vegetables, and granola made with spent grains.
Chiara, passionate about food, reflected on her own journey with food and how that’s been shaped by her participation in DBS’ Towards Zero Food Waste initiatives:
“I never thought of becoming a food host on YouTube. One day, during my internship as a food writer, a video producer decided to cast me because she liked my chatty and extroverted personality.
Like anyone who’s in front of the camera, I am bound to receive both positive and negative comments. And it is only human to be affected by them. As someone very conscious of my image, I did get affected by them initially, but honestly, I just got too busy to read them anymore LOL.
But guess what, people who mind don’t matter, and people who matter don’t mind! Listen only to your loved ones. Only they will give you constructive feedback.
I wouldn’t say I have 100% overcome any kind of comments I come across, but hey that’s ok, I’m always a work in progress, and it takes courage to know you’re not perfect.
I would also say that I have a much healthier relationship with food now. I used to tie food to stress, using it as comfort whenever I felt stressed, or limiting myself because of my weight.
But I love delicious food! More than that – I love seeing people enjoy my delicious food.
It’s also a common thread through my childhood. Like I fondly remember this diner called Ponderosa, which no longer operates in Singapore. It had one of the first all-you-can-eat salad bar buffets and DIY ice cream stations that my family and I would get very excited over.
So, now I just eat whatever makes me happy. If I’m out with my friends or family, I would want to enjoy a precious meal with them, so I would order whatever I wish. Life is short, stay happy if you can.”
“Having been through the cook off, I regret that we might have been wasteful on our cooking shoots. Living alone with my sister as well – it’s easy to have leftovers that spoil or vegetables that go bad in a small household. Looking back, we weren’t only wasting precious food, but money as well.
I’m glad to have learnt more about the cause and being more mindful after this experience with DBS Perspectives. It takes more effort than you’d think, but the effort is essential, and worth taking.”
DBS Perspectives @ Esplanade at the DBS Foundation Outdoor Theatre, is a series of programmes open to the public, offering exciting live shows, interactive dialogues and experiential workshops.
Find out more about the upcoming events here: go.dbs.com/lmbtb
