Bristol Restaurant Skipchen Salvages & Serves ‘Junk’ Food From Skips
A new cafe in the area of Stokes Croft in Bristol has opened, serving food and drinks to local customers. But there is one big difference with this particular eatery; everything served up has been made using ingredients entirely ‘rescued’ from supermarket rubbish skips.
The Bristol Skipchen
The food, all within its sell-by date and perfectly safe to eat, is discarded by supermarkets every day, making space on the shelves for fresh new produce.
The team at ‘Skipchen’, the aptly-named cafe, scorn the attitudes of these multinational companies, recognising the huge amounts of needless waste that they are creating.
Co-director of the Real Junk Food Project, Sam Joseph, is incredibly rigorous with food hygiene and safety precautions with sell-by dates, but explains that the majority of produce that is being disposed of by supermarkets is perfectly safe to eat for some time after the supermarkets get rid of it. As Joseph states, “The real crime is the supermarkets throwing the edible food in the bin. That’s what we need to change”.
Rescued and recycled ingredients
The workers at the cafe all share Joseph’s passion, with Skipchen’s resident chef, Dylan Rakhra, creating original and flavoursome recipes from these rescued and recycled ingredients.
The produce is found primarily outside of supermarkets, though the team of cafe volunteers also lift supplies from outside restaurants, farmland and even benefit from donations from locals supporting the scheme.
Indeed with overwhelming support for the thrifty Real Junk Food Project, Skipchen has been yet another success story in this area of Bristol.
The beauty of this cafe’s repertoire of food is that it is ever-changing, with no two days holding the same menu. It’s this kind of entrepreneurial bravery that has seriously paid off, with customers flocking to eat the wholesome and morally-delicious creations. What’s more, the cafe’s ‘pay-as-you-feel’ policy means that there are no set prices for the food being served, requiring instead that customers give as much as they wish for the food they receive. One regular customer at Skipchen spoke about this policy, stating: ‘Thanks to the way the cafe takes payment, I always really think about my food and appreciate every mouthful so I can put a value on it’.
This exclusive 20-seat eatery have set up their own Facebook page to encourage even more custom, once again using their entrepreneurial wisdom to their advantage, yet always keeping in mind their economical mindset. With over 2,000 likes, their success story is clear for all to see; and there is no doubt that this institution will continue to grow in years to come, spreading their ethical, humbling methods of food recycling for customers in this area and further afield.
At Woodford Recycling, we are passionate about the reuse and recycling of many materials. For more information on how we can help your home or business reduce your levels of waste, contact our friendly team today and let us share our expertise with you.