Can we talk about how much food gets wasted on line cook training?

I read a study from a food waste nonprofit that said a single new line cook can waste up to $500 worth of ingredients in their first week of training. That number shocked me. I always thought it was bad, but not that bad. Most chefs I know just shrug it off as the cost of doing business. But if we actually tracked that waste, we could probably find ways to cut it in half by using trim for stocks or doing knife drills on cheaper veg first. Has anyone else seen their kitchen's waste numbers spike when a new hire starts?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jana1mo ago

$500 in a week is insane. Trainers who let newbies chop pricey protein right off the bat are setting everyone up for failure. Hard pass on the “cost of doing business” excuse. You can teach knife skills on carrots and onions all day long without bankrupting the kitchen. Track that waste for a month and show the chef the numbers, they might finally care.

ivanl761mo ago

Did you ever have that ONE guy in culinary school who would steal your bench scraper just to mess with your mise? Reminds me of the time I watched a trainee trim a whole case of tenderloin into tiny cubes for "practice" while the chef was on break. We ended up with free beef tartare for staff meal, but the waste sheet was a SIGHT.