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Episode 43 - Waste Not, Want Not


When you find yourself collecting your neighbours’ left-over home grown produce so you can make pickles and preserves in an effort to save them from the bin – you know food is your thing. Alex Elliott-Howery has channelled her love of the kitchen into a café and cooking school along with a series of cookbooks, the most recent being ‘The Food Savers A-Z’. Within those pages, you’ll not only learn traditional methods to create fabulous food, but you’ll also master how to use up all those bits and pieces left in the fridge. Think brown avocado, limp cauliflower, and bruised beans. To gain some insight into her food waste hacks, the owner of Cornersmith herself is today’s guest. We discuss:

  • What Alex loves most about running her family business Cornersmith, which promotes using every part of our food.

  • Her interest in pickling and increasing the longevity of our food started when she said ‘yes’ to using the neighbour’s extra and taking it home to bottle.

  • Once she opened the cafe, locals were encouraged to bring in their own excess home grown produce to be turned into jams and pickles.

  • The community of like-minded people who have come together for this cause.

  • Alex is big on eating local, seasonal food and reducing waste. To help us do this at home she has written a new book.

  • By using alphabetical order, the ‘The Food Savers A-Z’ allows you to quickly look up how to use a banana for instance that has turned black.

  • Climate change and sustainability are something we all think about and Alex’s top waste hack.

  • Alex describes her relationship with farmers and why it has changed her perspective on waste.

  • She predicts how the future kitchens will look and the costs involved in being a sustainable business.

  • The National Farmers Federation has a goal to halve food waste by 2030 and how we can all pitch in and help.

  • The most unexpected thing to happen since starting Cornersmith.

  • The common mistakes we make when it comes to food waste and her tips for longevity.

  • Alex’s ultimate dream for the future.

We hope to see you back on the road soon, to learn more about how Australia grows on the next episode of Australian Farmers with Angie Asimus.

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