Food insecurity and food waste are two of the pertinent concerns that will be addressed at the Art Theatre on Sunday, March 6 at 11:00AM with the screening of Just Eat It. A Food Waste Story. Organized by local Restaurant Week coordinator, Dine LBC, the film addresses the 40 percent of fresh food produced in America lost to landfills.
Following the screening, Berlin Bistro Executive Chef Tim Balen will present a multi-course “Root-to-Stem” lunch of fresh vegetable and fruit scraps alongside edible food products that would otherwise be discarded for superficial reasons. Proceeds from the screening will be donated to local nonprofit Food Finders, while the Art Theatre is donating the use of the theater for the event.
“At Berlin we work hard to reduce food waste and also donate our fresh, unserved food to Food Finders,” stated Kerstin Kansteiner, Berlin’s proprietor and co-owner of the Art Theatre. “Although what we are serving during this special event is not our regular menu, the goal of this lunch event is to raise consciousness, but more importantly, to draw attention to the potential of these typically discarded ingredients.”
On the menu will be Rich Mushroom Soup, made from the beech brown mushroom stems and vegetable trimmings with diced rainbow chard stalks and whole grain crostini, Beet Skin Pickled Egg with farm lot greens and blood orange vinaigrette, Chicken Roulade stuffed with a carrot green pesto, chicken demi-glace from the bones of whole chickens, shaved carrots and crispy fried potato skins and last, but not least, Bread Pudding made from day-old brioche buns with an Italian meringue. Included with the purchase of a meal ticket is a Soju Bloody Mary cocktail.
“We hope to continue this process—demonstrating how to make better use of our ingredients in the kitchen, and ultimately changing people’s perception of good food,” added Kansteiner.
Just Eat It. A Food Waste Story was produced in 2014 by food lovers Jen Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin. The two filmmakers delve into the issue of food waste via farm, retail and restaurants and even their own fridge. After looking into the billions of dollars of good food wasted across the nation, the two vow to refrain from grocery shopping for six months to survive solely on discarded food.
To further the event’s purpose of drawing attention to what we can do to reduce waste, guests are encouraged to bring their own bowl and reusable cup to be filled if they choose to purchase popcorn and soft drinks. All lunch guests will take home a mason jar of Berlin housemade Blood Orange Infused Vinegar.
Seating is limited and advance purchase is required. The cost of the lunch is $18 per guest. A limited number of combination movie/lunch tickets are available for $25. Tickets can be purchased here.
The Art Theatre is located at 2025 East 4th Street.
{FG_GEOMAP [33.77198200000001,-118.166965] FG_GEOMAP}