Etzlenu does Galeria . . . and learns a thing or two about Sustainability

So today, I had a half day session with the extraordinary food photographer (and former chef) Noam Preisman and well-known chef Dor Vanger (former head of Mona in Jerusalem). Every week, the duo showcases cool stories about cooks and cooking in the weekedn Ha’Aretz magazine, Galeria. I had the morning slot, focused of course on southern cuisine. But it’s the afternoon photo shoot that I did not participate in that I want to focus on here.

So early in the morning, Dor went to one of the larger regional food markets in the area to document (and collect) the immense waste of fresh vegetables and fruits that occurs in the food industry: probably amounting to around 40% of food grown in Israel, from farm to table. Tons of good watermelons and apples and avocados and the list goes on and on. Later that day, Dor and Noam and another guest cook would be cooking up a phenomenal meal of dishes with all of this produce that had been simply tossed into the garbage bin. Dor calls is “trash cooking.” And when I meant him later that morning after he had returned from his research and foraging, he was brimming with ideas for what to do with all of this waste, how to feed the hungry.

Humbled.