A restaurant serving meals from food supermarkets have discarded has opened in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Sophie Sales, co-founder of the restaurant Rub og Stub, which means lock stock and barrel, said the people behind the restaurant had worked in supermarkets and restaurants and seen the amount of food that was thrown away so decided to do something about it.
Denmark already has a number of ‘freegans’, the nickname given to people who eat food that has been discarded in order to reduce waste.
However, unlike the freegans, this unique restaurant will not rummage through bins in search of ingredients, and it refuses food that has been gathered through an activity known as dumpster diving.
The owners’ plan is to get the food before it has been thrown out by supermarkets and other retailers. Sales explained that they had wanted to secure permanent deals before opening but, as the restaurant was such a new concept, it proved difficult.
Therefore, they were forced to buy certain ingredients for the launch because, according to Sales, potential suppliers did not consider it realistic that they would open. However, two supermarket chains owned by Coop Denmark have already made major donations, offering the restaurant everything from duck breast to dairy products.
The idea is that supermarkets will be prepared to give certain items away as they get close to expiry date, with Sales explaining that once the restaurant gets it they can either use it that day or freeze it.
Rub og Stub, which is located in the centre of the Danish capital and run by a team of volunteers, is to donate all profits to three Sierra Leone-based charities. It doesn’t accept food that has been prepared elsewhere and, due to how it sources its food, the menu changes on a daily basis.