LIMITACIONES DEL ESTUDIO

The creation of waste can occur at any moment in a food’s journey, from delivery of ingredients to consumption and beyond. The entrée before the main course of ethnographic data presents the predominant influences that lead to the creation of waste at The Amber Flower. The opportunities food has for becoming waste are driven by relatively few important factors. The conduits available for food to journey through are influenced by where and when a decision needs to be made. If there are no pig buckets accessible and it is in the middle of a lunch rush the potential for food to become waste is greater than on a slower day. For each dish the creation of waste is driven by its configuration at a micro level with waste emerging from a collection of small internal changes. A final significant means of creating food waste comes from ensuring each dish meets a desired set of aesthetic standards, with those failing to meet the concept of what a dish should be not being presented for sale.

The space available within The Amber Flower’s kitchen determines the amount of ingredients, dishes, equipment, and waste which can be stored at any given time as all of these have a physical presence. Storage space for ingredients and dishes require precise conditions to prevent decay or bacteria growth, such as cool dry places, fridges, freezers, or once a dish has been heated and cooked, warm areas. Space however is at a premium and food that can no longer be sold does not contribute to The Amber Flower’s profitability and needs to make space for that which will. To thus enable food to pass to the next stage of its journey a conduit such as a rubbish bin, compost heap, or staff member is required. Food cannot be stored until such time as a conduit becomes available due to its limited shelf life. Furthermore, each conduit needs knowledge and practices in place if it is to successfully enable food to journey to where it does not become waste. If there is no room in a conduit that avoids the creation of waste, then the only option is a journey into a waste stream.

Time constraints can also impact food journeys and the creation of waste. When the pressure exists to make dishes, clean plates, transport them to functions, and repeat the process as quickly as possible, opportunities to ensure the creation of waste is minimised can be difficult. Instead all is subsumed by the rush to get dishes made and out of the kitchen, much the same as the dinner rush presented by Fine (1991: 63-65) when cooks are forced to focus entirely upon producing food to the exclusion of all else. Alternatively, on slower days there is the opportunity to think and consider conduits which do not result in a journey to waste. These could result in incorporating food into another dish or putting it aside for animal feed. During the busiest periods there is barely time to perform even such minor tasks which will break the rhythm of work. This factor of time comes up again in temporal proximity of various servings of food.

As catering firms are in the business of supplying food with a diverse range of vegetables, meats, fruits, dairy, and sauces there is a constant risk of contamination. The clearest example is bacteria growth which can emerge from within meat and drive food journeys toward becoming waste. Regulations from government such as the Food Act 1981 and Food Hygiene Regulations 1974 exist to enforce food handling procedures to minimise the risk of this change, but in the process they restrict potential journeys and conduits available to meat. Food that must be disposed of can still have nutritional value and be suitable to consume, but it is denied access to conduits that could see this value realised. Food poisoning is a valid risk however, as it would not only damage the health of customers, but also that of the firm as the state of each dish reflects upon the practices of the whole firm.

The creation of food waste for individual dishes can also arise through failing to meet an aesthetic standard. Every dish leaving the kitchen must meet specific standards in terms of its appearance, smell, texture, and taste which must hold constant throughout its journey. This involves falling short of the conceptual idea of what a dish is as the physically created dish assemblage does not match the perception of how it should be. When a dish falls short of these aesthetic features it is necessary to move a dish closer to the ideal to maintain the standards desired of the product so it may go out for sale. If correction does not, or cannot occur, a

dish fails to bring all the elements together and will tend to journey toward becoming waste instead. It could be as minor as a crack in the surface of a biscuit, an avocado that has become stringy, or broken pastry on a sausage roll. All represent damages to a dish which cause it to fall short of meeting its ideal form.

The factors of aesthetics, contamination, time and space can be found at moments within a food’s journey through catering. Each of these factors present moments for food to journey into conduits that lead toward food becoming waste or something else. For catering there is an added issue of mobility as travel between distant places can provide additional opportunities for contamination and aesthetic damage to occur. Time, space, and the nature of the food itself, all contribute to shaping the food journeys presented in the main course to follow. The food I have made by combining food and waste with conduits and assemblages and cooked using participant observation will now be presented for consumption as the main menu focuses on the insights gleaned from participant observation at The Amber Flower.

3.4. Concluding Comments

The people and space of The Amber Flower are essential for creating the context of food journeys and the practices that occur within. The building and its role as part of a university has led to its configuration of catering for both onsite and offsite functions. The people within the kitchen are those who enact the food practices and make decisions about which conduit food should be placed in to facilitate its becoming waste or something else. Together the place of The Amber Flower and the people employed within the kitchen contribute to combining the elements which create food. Time and space, aesthetics, and contamination can all lead to food becoming waste. Exploring the journeys and entanglements between people, objects, and ideas through which food becomes waste or something else will be presented through three significant forms of food in catering, vegetables, meat, and baked goods.