How not to waste food at the restaurant

Restaurant food waste in Italy accounts for around 20 percent of the dishes ordered. This is a huge figure, which combines two types of waste: food thrown away and the money you spent when you pay the bill. To avoid wasting food at restaurants, you can adopt some simple and effective habits.

• Evaluate the portions before orderingIf your restaurant is known for large portions, consider sharing an appetizer or main course. Large portions are the number one cause of food waste in restaurants.
• Order graduallyInstead of choosing several courses right away, you can add more if you're still hungry. For example, start with a first course, then plan on sampling a second course. Or vice versa.
• Ask the staff for informationThey often know which dishes are more substantial and which are lighter. Especially if the restaurant is reliable, good waiters quickly understand the customer's needs and know how to direct them, even if they don't want to waste food and money.
• Take home the leftovers: in many restaurants (more than 90 percent in Italy) it is normal to ask for a "Doggy bag" Or a container for unfinished items. Unfortunately, only 15 percent of customers do this: cultural resistance, shyness, and laziness—all factors that contribute to increased food waste in restaurants.
• Be realistic about how hungry you are: Avoid ordering based on your expected appetite and focus on how much you really think you can eat.
• Always share desserts or side dishes: they are often bigger than they seem. Moreover, sharing at the restaurant is also a playful way to spend time together at the table, outside of traditional home settings.
• Choose smaller portions when availableSome places offer half portions or smaller sizes. And in any case, nobody is stopping you from asking for them.

In buffet restaurants, food waste often occurs because it's easy to take more food than you can eat. Some practical tips:

1. Do a reconnaissance lap before using it. Look at all the available options and decide what you're really interested in, instead of just filling your plate at the first station. A buffet is like a painting; it should be looked at and evaluated first as a whole, and then in detail, dish by dish.
2. Take very small portions on the first go. You can always come back for more. It's better to go through two or three steps than to leave food on your plate: this is also good manners, as well as saving money.
3. Taste before you overdo it. If you're curious about a dish but aren't sure if you'll like it, try a small amount to start.
4. Don't fill the dish to the brim. An overly full plate makes it difficult to gauge how much you're actually eating, and it's also not good manners.
5. Prioritize the foods you really crave. Avoid automatically reaching for bread, chips, or side dishes just because they're available. nervous hunger It's always around the corner, even when we go to a restaurant.
6. Eat slowly. The feeling of satiety arrives with a certain delay; those who eat quickly tend to reach for more food before realizing they are already satisfied.
7. Check the rules of the place. Some buffets and all-you-can-eat restaurants charge a small surcharge for leftover food. Knowing these rules will help you order and serve yourself more carefully.
8. If you're in a group, share the tastings. Each person can take a small portion of a different dish and let the others try it, thus avoiding everyone taking large quantities of the same dishes.
9. Leave room for the next dishes. Many people fill up on the first courses right away and then waste what they get later.
10. Stop when you are full. At buffets, the fixed price can give the feeling of having to "recover" the expense by eating as much as possible, but this often leads to taking more food than necessary.

Read also:

• What to do to avoid wasting food
• How to store food in the refrigerator
• How to avoid wasting food during your lunch break