Waste-free recipe contests

Waste-free recipe contests are creative competitions designed to inspire cooks—both professional and home chefs—to develop recipes that minimize food waste by using leftover ingredients, peels, and less desirable parts of food creatively.

Examples of Waste-Free Recipe Contests

• Food Waste Prevention Week Cooking Challenge invites participants to share recipes made from rescued food or ingredients that would have otherwise gone to waste. Winners receive cash prizes and professional recipe development.
• UN Global Sustainable Cooking Contest “#Recipe4Change” launched by the Roca brothers encourages sustainable cooking with a focus on reducing food waste, using local produce, and healthy cooking. The contest has attracted thousands of global entries and emphasizes creativity in zero waste cooking.
• All You Can Cook Culinary Competition promotes zero waste cooking by challenging teams to create dishes using surplus or whole ingredients, scored on zero waste effectiveness, originality, presentation, and sustainability.
• Local and Community Competitions: Many local organizations host contests encouraging cooks to submit recipes that use commonly wasted foods, leftovers, or “throw-it-all-in” style cooking to rescue food from home kitchens.

Benefits of These Contests

• They raise awareness about food waste and inspire people to rethink what qualifies as usable ingredients.
• They promote sharing of innovative, sustainable recipes and techniques.
• They engage communities, schools, and professionals in sustainable culinary practices.
• Winners often receive prizes, publicity, or opportunities for further culinary development.

Waste-free recipe contests offer a powerful platform to celebrate creativity while advancing sustainability and reducing food waste in kitchens of all scales.