After meeting on a yacht in Sydney Harbour after the notorious and inspiring Greenhouse by Joost restaurant finished, it was a matter of weeks before we began planning our first Wasted event. From the time we decided to jump into the idea till now, it has been one heck of a ride. Through a combined passion for responsible dining, sustainable living and creative vision we have pushed our boat out to sea as far as we could within such a short amount of time. The feedback so far has been encouraging, and people came and had a good time (which let’s be honest, isn’t too hard after six courses with matching wines). It could not have been such a great success without all of our friends, and all the new people we have met who were brave enough to step onto our deck and entrust us with their palate. It is awesome and encouraging to see how enthusiastic people in Sydney have been to eat *gasp* brains, chicken hearts and wood infused curd. Especially because we were so adamant that we were not going to release any menu details to any of you. WELL DONE SYDNEY.
A special thanks to Oz Harvest, Reverse Garbage and JP at Ten Buck Alley. Whilst the event itself was fun, the greatest part for us was showcasing the idea that waste products could be transformed into a dining experience. Just before we launched in Sydney the UN released a statement that ABC radio national interviewed us about outlining “Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes – gets lost or wasted globally” and “Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes).” We are chuffed we could put this into practice.
PHOTOS
A photo gallery for Sydney has now been added to the website www.wastedpopup.com
NEXT STOP MELBOURNE
It would not be fair to have our Dougie here in Australia for only 5 more weeks, and not give Melbourne a chance to experience what Sydney has devoured. As such we have teamed up with The Essential Ingredient at Prahran Market to relive the chaos and melodrama that ensued at Ten Buck Alley in Sydney. We will land and prepare for a Thursday evening session at 6:30pm sharp June 30 and don’t intend on going anywhere until Saturday evening is done. Tickets are now on sale at $140 pp + BF so get in fast to avoid severe FOMO (fear of missing out) . It is important to note that for our Melbourne event there will be dinner with matching wines only, as there are licensing restrictions in place at our venue. We now have a link on our website to our Sydney Menu. Some items will remain the same but some will change based on what is available on the nights.
URBAN MYTH?
Without ruffling too many feathers we heard that Melbourne is considered to be the culturally sophisticated half-sister to a bling heavy Sydney sibling, and a national leader in all things “European”. As such we have decided to take our menu to dizzying new heights. Be prepared to be surprised at what is put in front of you and trust that we will lead you blindly into our evening with the promise you will come out (mostly) unscathed.
LONDON CALLING
Once we are done with Melbourne there is a rumble amongst the lower decks that a London Wasted is on the horizon. There truly is no rest for the wicked. Stay connected via our mailing list to find out more or keep up to date on twitter @wastedpopup. Our facebook event page will also continue to update as we change locations – please note that “attending” on facebook does not secure a place for our dinners. The only way to secure a place is to book via the website email and then pay via pay pal. Any queries please direct to bookings@wastedpopup.com
Also look out tonight for Greenhouse By Joost appearing on Masterchef. Joost has been a great inspiration for our travelling circus.
What: Wasted pop up restaurant 6 course tasting menu with matched wines
Where: The Essential Ingredient Cooking School Prahran Melbourne
When: 6:30pm sharp each night for 3 nights
Thursday June 30
Friday July 1
Saturday July 2
Why: Doug McMaster hates waste, and there is billions of tonnes of it every year.
How: Who knows, we just turn up and it kind of happens.
