—Systemic change begins with personal change—
Douglas McMaster is a chef and owner of Silo London.
At a young age, Doug was awarded Britain’s Best Young Chef’ by the BBC. Some years later he was awarded Britain’s most Innovative chef by the ‘Young British Foodies’ (YBFs). More recently Doug was recognised by ‘The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ as one of the ‘young people shaping the future of gastronomy’.
Before opening Silo, Doug worked at some of the world’s best restaurants including St. John, The Fat Duck and Noma. In 2012, Doug worked under the legendary artist and Zero Waste visionary Joost Bakker, who challenged Doug to ‘not have a bin’.
He then went on to present a TEDTalk titled ‘Waste Is A Failure Of The Imagination’ and has become a public speaker on the future of food.
In 2014, Doug opened Silo the first Zero Waste restaurant, described by Doug as a ‘pre-industrial food system’.
Silo has won awards for ‘Britain’s Most Ethical Restaurant,’ and ‘Britain’s Most Innovated Restaurant’ at the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards.
When a man who founded a restaurant that uses no trash cans meets a guy who doesn't fly and hasn't filled a load of trash since 2019, we start by expressing mutual appreciation. Anyone can do these things. It's a matter of doing it. Doing it leads to experiencing similar challenges and overcoming them, facing similar resistance from people saying it's impossible, and enjoying similar feelings of reward at living by our values. Doug shares stories we can learn from of. One that I love is on fermentation. I'd started doing it and loving how simple it is, but hadn't heard the glory Doug shares of making it a major part of the kitchen. I'm fermenting more all the time. Also mycelium, fungus, which they make furniture out of, made from old grain. Yes, they grow furniture from fungus! Listen for more ways to avoid creating trash and rampant, soul-destroying consumerism.
Doug is the opposite of the catastrophe we've made of the food industry. He created a restaurant with no trash cans; not for the customers, not for the staff, nor for suppliers. Talk about a role model. You can do it too. He can't do it for you. Neither can I. Only you can do it for yourself, but now you know you can. Step one: try. Step two: don't stop. Regular listeners know my disgust and disdain for how much garbage comes from food and doof industries. The streets of my once beautiful neighborhood and city are covered with litter, the overwhelming majority of it coming from places profiting from producing more garbage and doof than food. Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Starbucks, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Frito-Lay, Dunkin' Donuts, every takeout place, and nearly every coffee shop, plus more. Millennia from now, our descendants, if any survive, will continue suffering from the poisons we create. Beyond sharing how he did it, Doug shares his passion motivating him and satisfaction rewarding him. You can hear the camaraderie developing as two guys who discovered the joy of not abdicating and capitulating share what we discovered. I think I can speak for Doug that neither of us will return to our old ways of wasteful consumption. You'll enjoy this joyful episode of living joyfully sustainably, or doing our best to reach it.