112: You’re Wasting More Food & Money Than You Realize With Tom Colicchio

Tom Colicchio entered the NYC food scene in 1993 cooking for restaurants including Gotham Bar & Grill and then opened Gramercy Tavern in 1994. In 2001, Tom left Gramercy Tavern to open his own restaurant, Craft, to focus on serving dishes with high-quality ingredients in the simplest way possible. He is the founder of Crafted Hospitality, which includes several restaurants across the U.S. and has a mission to bring healthy food to more people. Tom is also the head judge on Bravo’s hit show, Top Chef, and uses his platforms to highlight the issue of food insecurity and food waste.

Tom joined me on the mbgpodcast to talk about his path to becoming a celebrity chef and why food issues became a prominent focus for him. He talks about his eye-opening experience as the executive producer of the documentary A Place at the Table, which delves into the roots of food insecurity in the U.S. “Right now in this country, we have around 40 million people who struggle to put food on the table,” said Tom.

In light of this statistic, Tom is dedicated to getting healthier meals in schools. He worked with Michelle Obama to pass the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act and has testified in front of Congress to push this mission forward.

He’s also a huge advocate of reducing food waste as he's seen first hand the amount accumulated by Americans daily. “What we’re throwing out is not just food, it’s the resources it takes to make that food and produce that food. It’s a lot of energy, water, and also people’s lives,” explained Tom. He also lets us in on the one doable thing he does every Friday to limit waste and save money in his home and how we can get started reducing food waste in our home.

After Tom started gardening six years ago he lost 20 pounds and shifted his food philosophy to being more plant forward. He talks about why he loves to cook seasonally and the three spring veggies he can’t wait to cook with. This episode will spark greater awareness about food access and encourage you to think about ways you can be a better food consumer.

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