Hilton launches a £40 ‘taste of zero waste’ menu at its flagship hotels in Britain – featuring cod tongues, potato skin chips and treacle tart made from leftover sourdough

It’s not just small, independent restaurants trying to boost their eco credentials.

International hospitality giant Hilton has launched a ‘zero waste menu’ in four of its top UK hotels as part of a trial.

The £40 menu showcases ‘innovative techniques’ to tackle food waste and under-utilised cuts of meat that would normally be thrown away.

Unusual delicacies include ox heart, salmon cheeks, cod tongues, potato chips and treacle tart made from leftover sourdough.

Hilton says its long-term ambition is to reduce the amount of food going to landfill, even though the zero waste menu will only be available for a month.

Paul Bates, executive chef at Hilton London Metropole, says Hilton is making a ‘meaningful difference, one delicious dish at a time’

Zero waste menus are being launched at four Hilton hotels: London Hilton on Park Lane, Hilton Manchester Deansgate, Hilton London Metropole and DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole.

“As chefs, we are the catalyst for positive change and have the opportunity to raise the bar for sustainable dining,” says Paul Bates, executive chef at Hilton London Metropole.

‘Our menu inspires diners to embrace new flavors, while empowering them to take the lead in tackling food waste.

“We look forward to guests joining us on this culinary adventure and helping us make a meaningful difference, one delicious dish at a time.”

Although the menus will differ per restaurant, all four Hiltons will use so-called ‘root-to-shoot’ and ‘nose-to-tail’ dishes.

Here, every edible part of an animal or vegetable is used, rather than thrown away, as is often the case in the restaurant industry.

Chefs will even use vegetable trimmings and peels to make sauces and stocks, as well as bruised or overripe fruit in desserts and cocktails.

Excess fruit and vegetables that would otherwise end up ‘for the trash’ are pickled and served on plates as a garnish.

Pictured is a charcoal-grilled ox heart with potato skin risotto and pickled magnolia petals, served at the Hilton London Metropole

A Hilton chef prepares poached Scottish salmon cheeks with seaweed stock, asparagus stalks and tomato

Minced chicken on toast with toasted sourdough, grilled chicken heart, soft herb pesto and seeds

The kitchens will also transform the untouched food from the breakfast buffet, such as pastries, bread, fruit and coffee beans, into ‘delicious puddings’.

At the Manchester Hilton, for example, chefs have created a sourdough treacle tart from the evening bread service.

Only four of the more than fifty Hilton hotels in Great Britain will have the zero waste menu from now until the end of May.

However, a further 18 British Hiltons are to receive a new ‘low waste menu’, which uses techniques to reduce waste rather than eliminate it.

The hotel giant also plans to roll out the initiative to more hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa over the coming year – although it is not clear whether this will also take the form of a month-long trial.

Avoiding food waste is crucial in the fight against climate change because when food waste rots, it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Hilton hopes the initiative will show other hotel operators that they can “join the global fight to reduce food waste” and adopt techniques “that can be implemented in kitchens of all sizes.”

Crispy fried cod tongues with sauce gribiche (a cold egg sauce in French cuisine) and nettle leaf tomato salad

Bread and butter pudding with blueberries and fudge, using leftover breakfast pastries and croissants

“The launch of these new menus marks another step in the global fight against food waste,” said Emma Banks, vice president of food and beverage strategy at Hilton.

‘These dishes are designed to showcase the best techniques used every day in our hotels around the world.’

It’s possible that Hilton took inspiration from what bills itself as the world’s first zero waste restaurant: Silo in East London.

The trendy venue offers a tasting menu from £75 per person, including ground bread made on site, wild rabbit dumplings, maitake mushrooms and a sourdough ice cream sandwich.

Silo also has no waste bin in the kitchen and chefs use leftovers to create new dishes instead of sending them to landfill.

According to UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report 2024, 1 billion tonnes of food is wasted annually, accounting for a fifth of all food available to consumers, and the food services sector contributes over a quarter of this waste.

In total, an estimated 8 to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food that is not consumed.