There is a particular kind of magic that happens when New York chefs are handed a constraint. Tell them not to waste a thing, and suddenly carrot tops become pesto, citrus scraps become cocktail syrup, mango seeds become sikil pak, and what might have been headed for the bin finds itself center stage on a plate.
That is the animating idea behind Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week, returning for its third year Monday, September 28 through Sunday, October 4. The weeklong citywide initiative asks some of New York’s most compelling restaurants—including Corima, Chambers, Somssi, Cynthia, Raf’s, Oberon, Bar Chucho, and more—to commit to producing zero food waste while creating special dishes and drinks that show just how inventive sustainable cooking can be. The result is less lecture than invitation: come hungry, order well, and see what happens when scraps are treated as raw material rather than afterthought.
“We’re humbled by the support of so many talented chefs who bring their inspiring voices and creativity to this event year after year,” says Amanda Plante, VP Press & Influence at the Mill, which organizes the event. “Chefs have become some of our strongest advocates. There’s a shared belief that food is incredibly valuable and not meant to be wasted. We aspire to represent a diversity of perspectives, cuisines, and neighborhoods, to showcase a variety of dining options that New Yorkers can visit and enjoy throughout the week.”
This year, guests can experience the restaurant week in four ways: through a single a-la-carte dish, a curated three-course menu, an exclusive cocktail, or an artfully paired dish and drink. At Corima, chef-owner Fidel Caballero brings the restaurant’s Michelin-starred, Northern Mexican sensibility to a full zero-waste menu, from a sope with quelites and Golden Osetra caviar to a bluefin tostada with mango seed sikil pak. At Chambers, Norwich Meadows carrots arrive with yogurt and carrot top pesto, paired with The Cornish Split, a vodka cocktail built with preserved Harry’s Berries, strawberry amaro, and malted milk.
“Restaurants like Cynthia and the culinary philosophy that Sherry Cardoso is championing are a perfect fit for Mill to partner with; we were so excited when they signed on to be a part of Make Food Not Waste this year,” Plante says. “We look to work with teams who focus on sustainable practices year-round and feel passionately about the issue of minimizing food waste and pushing the boundaries of what can be done with scraps.”
Elsewhere, the week gets scrappy in the best possible way. Somssi turns the remnants of its viral Potato Potato Potato into gamja sujebi, a Korean hand-torn noodle soup finished with crispy chicken skin and potato crunch. Bar Chucho leans into Northern Mexican carne asada culture with a dry-aged beef hamburger layered with garum made from fermented scraps and bones. Oberon, inside the New Museum, offers Idle Bloom, a non-alcoholic cocktail of rose, pomegranate, cardamom, ashwagandha, and oleo saccharum made from salvaged citrus.
The broader point is deliciously simple: Sustainability does not have to mean austerity. In the hands of these chefs, it looks like abundance, imagination, and a little bit of culinary mischief. For one week, Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week makes a persuasive case that the future of dining may be less about what chefs add and more about what they refuse to throw away.
Behind the sustainability initiative is Mill, the food-recycling company that is helping reduce food waste for everyday chefs and home cooks. Launched in early 2023 by former Nest executives, the company introduced a sleek, Apple-esque kitchen bin that quietly grinds and dehydrates food scraps overnight, transforming everything from vegetable peels to chicken bones into clean, dry grounds that can be returned to the soil or repurposed as animal feed. Think compost but drier, faster, and generally tidier.
The clever little contraption quickly attracted attention, earning a place on TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023 list, Bon Appétit’s 2025 Gear of the Year Awards, and Esquire’s 2025 Gadget Awards. Mill was also a 2023 finalist for Fast Company’s Design Company of the Year.
But Mill’s ambitions extend beyond the household kitchen. Launched in New York City in 2024, Make Food Not Waste has evolved into a national culinary initiative, bringing its zero-waste philosophy to some of the country’s most celebrated restaurants. “We’re honored to work with so many leading chefs, recipe developers, and cookbook authors across the country who advocate for Mill as part of their belief in more sustainable food systems and getting food back to farms,” Plante says. “Their voices, talent, and creativity are what make these events so special.”
According to the company, the Mill community has collectively kept more than 20 million pounds of food out of landfills. In a country that throws away nearly 60 million tons of food every year, every little bit helps.
“Food waste is one of the most solvable problems we face, and it starts with how we value food,” Plante says. “By showcasing no-waste cooking and telling these types of stories, we hope to inspire people to think differently about what’s possible and to see food for what it really is: one of our most valuable resources.”
