Douglas McMaster, Silo

Douglas McMaster, founder and head chef at the groundbreaking, zero waste-restaurant Silo, is it possible to not throw away any food whatsoever?

– When we tell people that we don’t have a bin, we mean that we don’t have a general waste bin. However we do have a 200 litre compost silo – that’s why the restaurant is called “Silo”. In the beginning, it was more like 600 litres. However, compost isn’t waste, its food for the earth and animals. That’s what we call the silo. Close the loop cooking.

So, what does actually go into the Silo? Do you use organic produce, for example?

– One of my biggest passions is to prove to the world that organic farming can support a world class restaurant. We can absolutely feed the world with natural farming. So yes, everything is extremely organic.

Do you serve meat?

– Our belief is that the best, agricultural system includes animals. Without them, nothing would be truly organic. They are a part of the system, but they need to be a part of a regenerative system. At Silo, meat is usually used as garnish and we use a lot of byproducts such as skin or fat. Overall, 5-10 percent of the menu consists of meat, that’s around 80 grams per guest.