Our Journey to a Zero-Waste Kitchen

When we first opened our doors, I walked into the kitchen every morning with a heavy heart. Not from the weight of cooking for dozens of guests, but from seeing the amount of waste we generated daily. Vegetable peels, food scraps, packaging—it felt wrong in a place surrounded by such natural beauty.

The Wake-Up Call

It started with a simple question from a guest: "What do you do with all this waste?" I didn't have a good answer. We were doing what most kitchens do—sending it all to landfill. But this guest, an environmental scientist from Delhi, spent an hour with me explaining composting, source reduction, and circular kitchen systems.

That conversation changed everything. I realized that as chefs, we have a responsibility beyond creating delicious meals. We're gatekeepers of resources, and we need to honor every ingredient that comes through our doors.

Our Four-Pillar Approach

1. Composting Everything Organic

We built three composting systems: hot compost bins for fast decomposition, vermicomposting for nutrient-rich castings, and a bokashi system for cooked foods. Every vegetable peel, coffee ground, and eggshell goes into one of these systems. The resulting compost feeds our kitchen garden and local farmers' fields.

The best part? Our guests love participating. We've set up a small composting station where they can add their fruit peels and learn about the process. Kids especially get excited seeing worms turn waste into soil.

2. Root-to-Stem Cooking

I've completely changed how I cook. Broccoli stems? They become a creamy soup. Carrot tops? Pestos and garnishes. Lemon peels? Infused oils and candied treats. We've challenged ourselves to use every part of every ingredient.

This approach has made me a better chef. It forces creativity and deepens my understanding of ingredients. Plus, it's taught our team that "waste" is just unused potential.

Our kitchen garden, nourished by compost from our kitchen scraps

3. Conscious Sourcing

We work directly with farmers who use minimal packaging. Our dry goods come in bulk, stored in glass jars we've collected over time. Milk arrives in returnable steel containers. Bread comes wrapped in cloth bags we provide to the bakery.

This shift wasn't easy—it meant changing suppliers, adjusting inventory systems, and sometimes paying a bit more. But it's worth it. We've eliminated nearly 200kg of packaging waste monthly.

4. Preserving and Fermenting

When we have surplus produce, we don't let it go to waste. We make pickles, chutneys, jams, and ferments. Our pantry now looks like a treasure chest—rows of preserved seasonal bounty that we use throughout the year.

This practice connects us to traditional Himalayan food preservation methods. Grandmothers in these hills have been doing this for centuries. We're just rediscovering their wisdom.

The Challenges We Faced

Let me be honest—this journey hasn't been smooth. In the beginning, compost bins smelled terrible because we didn't have the right carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. Our first attempts at bulk sourcing resulted in ingredient shortages. Staff training took months.

Some team members resisted the changes. It's more work to sort waste, process scraps creatively, and maintain multiple systems. But gradually, people started seeing the impact. When you turn 500kg of would-be waste into rich compost that grows the tomatoes for tomorrow's breakfast, it clicks.

The Ripple Effect

What started as a kitchen initiative has spread throughout the homestay. Housekeeping switched to refillable amenities. The office went paperless. Guests started asking if they could take our systems home.

Other restaurants in Kalimpong have reached out, wanting to learn. We've hosted workshops, shared our composting setup plans, and connected suppliers with other establishments. The movement is bigger than us now.

What's Next

We're not stopping at 90%. Our next goal is closed-loop food systems—growing more of what we cook, composting all organic matter, and achieving true circularity. We're experimenting with aquaponics and expanding our garden.

We're also developing a "Zero-Waste Cooking" workshop for guests who want to learn these techniques. Because lasting change happens when knowledge is shared.