One of Britain’s leading chefs has called on the Mayor to launch a food programme that would allow restaurants to donate their leftovers to the capital’s poorest families.
Jason Atherton, a protégé of Gordon Ramsay, said health and safety rules were preventing many dining rooms from giving away dishes that fail to make it to diners’ plates.
The 40-year-old chef, who runs the Michelin-starred Pollen Street Social in Mayfair, estimated that London restaurants are throwing away hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of unused food every week.
And with growing numbers of Londoners struggling to feed their families as food prices rise, Mr Atherton said it was Boris Johnson’s “social responsibility” to step in to ensure leftover restaurant food went to those who most needed it.
Speaking at the preview night of the annual Taste of London food festival in Regent’s Park, the chef said: “I’m not even allowed to let people take away any leftovers from my restaurant at the end of the night, which is ludicrous.
"There’s got to be a way around that. Laws are put in place to protect people, but what about coming to some mutual agreement whereby the food can be transferred to people who are homeless or families on low incomes.
“It works in New York so why can’t we do it here?”
The Kids Company charity has warned of a “silent epidemic of hunger” with thousands of children in London going hungry every week.
Other top chefs backed Mr Atherton’s idea, saying they would be happy to take part in a London-wide scheme.
Simon Rogan, whose restaurants include Roganic in Marylebone and L’Enclume in the Lake District, said: “I’d be all for some scheme that would allow any leftover food to go to the people who needed it.”
Taste of London Festival runs until Sunday in Regent’s Park.
