Aromas of cinnamon and star anise perfume Florence-Léa Siry’s apartment. The speaker and anti-food waste expert has been boiling pieces of turkey, Christmas spices and vegetables for a few minutes now. “It’s a really efficient cooking method,” she says, adding that the meat will be tasty and much less dry than when it is baked. Plus, she can salvage the broth to make delicious soups later in the year.
HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT PHOTO, THE PRESS
Turkey pieces in their broth
The one who has collaborated for three seasons on the show I eat on Télé-Québec has this facility to see a thousand and one possibilities of meals where most people would see only garbage. Citrus peels, a heart of pineapple, withered mint, stunted vegetables: all these foods that she cooks today for Press will be delicious, she promises.
The menu that Florence-Léa Siry presents has everything of a classic New Year’s Eve meal. Turkey drizzled with gravy, served with vegetables and coleslaw for a main course; scones and ice cream for dessert; a punch and non-alcoholic cocktails to quench your thirst.
HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT PHOTO, THE PRESS
The main course cooked by Florence-Léa Siry has all the features of a classic New Year’s Eve meal.
The former film set canteen knows that some people are reluctant to adopt “zero waste” cuisine. “People are really afraid that it will increase their mental load, but it is completely the opposite,” she says.
The power of canvas
Florence-Léa Siry has always worked with recipe templates. “These are recipes with holes that we personalize according to what we have in the fridge or in the pantry,” she explains. It is also around this concept that his fifth cookbook published this fall is built, Zero waste challenges. There are 31 canvases for the 31 days of the month. These are all accessible recipes, to be used in many ways, depending on the foods we have on hand.
How to get started with this way of cooking?
Go with what you already master. Start by making a shepherd’s pie, but instead of having corn, add green leek. Instead of having minced meat, put in your leftover tofu and lentils that you would have wasted.
Florence-Lea Siry
“Add the shawarma spices you bought on a whim,” she adds. Try some sweet potato. It is all good. You have a delicious shepherd’s pie, which is actually a shepherd’s pie. If you eat it every week, it’s going to be different every time. ”
Working on a canvas allows you to avoid buying ingredients specific to a recipe that you will no longer use later. “I never had all the ingredients for a recipe,” says the one who was a canteen for 17 years.
Trial and error
Watching Florence-Léa Siry cook, however, we can see that a good dose of creativity is required to make a “zero waste” meal. Cook the skin of the turkey to create a bacon that will be added to the coleslaw… we never would have thought of it!
HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT PHOTO, THE PRESS
Florence-Léa Siry cooks the skin of the turkey.
To acquire this quality, you have to dare to experiment … and make mistakes. “Me, I am not in the performance, I am in the creativity”, fun to say Florence-Léa Siry, who missed the dessert prepared for Press.
HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT PHOTO, THE PRESS
The three scone tests carried out by Florence-Léa Siry. From the first version, on the left, to the final result, on the right (recipe proposed in another text).
“I was really excited that my scones weren’t working,” she enthuses. Inspired by the fruit cake, she baked an early version that contained fruit, nuts and spent grain flour (residue from beer brewing). Unsatisfied with the result, she used the same recipe, but reduced the inflation time – the first version had inflated for a very long time, an exciting game of pétanque having distracted the cook. The taste was good in both of these versions, but the appearance left something to be desired. “In your daily life, on a Tuesday, you find it satisfying, but in a Christmas buffet, it is sure to be wasted. […] When it’s Christmas, there is a switchboard, ”says Florence-Léa Siry. Finally, the third version, without spent grain flour, was the correct one. “It may be that the initial idea does not work, but we must not be discouraged. ”
“Zero waste challenge”
Once the main course, the dessert and the cocktails have been prepared, Florence-Léa Siry shows the little food waste she has produced. We can say: “Successful challenge! ”
HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT PHOTO, THE PRESS
Waste that has been put in the compost at the end of the day
It is his turn to challenge Quebeckers to try the waste-free lifestyle. In collaboration with Recyc-Québec and Guillaume Cantin from the non-profit organization La Transformerie, Florence-Léa Siry is launching the “Zero waste challenge” in January. “It’s a gang project in which we Quebecers work together to reduce our waste. Each month, participants will be invited to take on a different challenge, starting with a fridge challenge in January. In particular, there will be a free downloadable notebook with recipes. The goal ? That people can learn about the “zero waste” way of life “in pleasure, in a group, without pressure”.
“Reducing food waste is one of the first things we can do, on a personal level, to slow down climate change,” believes Florence-Léa Siry. This is also one of the messages she transmits in her lectures intended for elementary school children, an audience she adores and to whom she would like to bequeath a healthy planet.
Four tips from Florence-Léa Siry to limit waste
At the grocery store
1. Before putting food in the basket, think about what to do with it. Can we use the surpluses to make another recipe? If the answer is no, avoid purchasing the product.
2. Choose the right amount of food to reduce waste at the source. “Everyone takes a maximum of 1/4 cup of everything [lors du repas du réveillon]. We cook too much of it all the time. ”
New Years Eve
3. In a buffet, take out small portions as you go. This way the leftovers stay fresh and can be eaten later.
4. Do not announce your menu in advance. It is then easy to substitute food according to what is in our refrigerator without creating disappointment.
Food waste, in figures
140 kilograms
Amount of food wasted on average by a family annually in Canada, equivalent to approximately $ 1,100
2.2 million
Number of tonnes of food wasted by Canadian households each year, a loss equivalent to over $ 17 billion
63%
Percentage of food discarded by Canadian households that could have been eaten
Source: Recyc-Quebec