At right, Executive Chef Brandon Felder of Centerplate at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center speaks as WasteExpo attendees enjoy a “Zero Waste Lunch” in a dumpster equipped with salvaged wood seats and flooring, and table made from rescued doors
Centerplate, the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s exclusive food and beverage provider, hosted a “Zero Waste Lunch” at the 2017 WasteExpo convention on May 10. Chef Brandon Felder, executive chef, and his team served industry attendees a menu of Beet Salad, Abita Amber BBQ Shrimp, and Bananas Foster Bread Pudding, made with parts of food that would otherwise be discarded.
The lunch was created in partnership with the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Centerplate, GES, Salvage Supperclub, The Green Project and The Composting Network. The event took place inside a rented dumpster equipped with salvaged wood seats and flooring and rescued doors for a table, all of which came from local companies.
WasteExpo is a regular visitor to New Orleans, convening here nearly every three years using approximately nearly 600,000 gross square feet of exhibit space and attracting over 11,000 waste management professionals.
The “Zero Waste Lunch” consisted of the following ingredients:
- Beet Salad – Mixed greens, goat cheese, candied pecan bits and beet puree with champagne vinaigrette. Pureed beet scraps, trimmed tops and bottoms were turned into confit. Pecan bits that would otherwise be disposed of topped the salad. Remaining champagne from Centerplate’s bars department was combined with white vinegar to create the dressing.
- Abita Amber BBQ Shrimp – Pan-seared gulf shrimp and yellow stone-ground grits topped with grilled peppers and onions. Shrimp shells were ground down and used for stock with remaining Abita Amber Beer product, which were combined and used as the sauce. The grits were a combination of remaining yellow stone-ground grits and pureed cauliflower curd and stems (otherwise tossed pieces).
- Bananas Foster Bread Pudding – French bread, bananas and rum sauce. French bread (otherwise considered stale) was used for the bread pudding, and salvaged bananas that would otherwise be considered “too old” to sell/display was caramelized and added to the dish. The sauce was made from the rum leftover from Centerplate’s bar inventory.
With 1.1 million square feet of contiguous exhibit space, an award winning staff and first class amenities, the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is the sixth largest convention center in the nation, a consistent Top 10 host of the largest number of conventions and tradeshows annually, and one of the city’s “Top Workplaces.” As “Louisiana’s Economic Engine,” Convention Center event activity has produced $53.7 billion in economic impact since its 1985 opening, including $3.4 billion in new tax revenue for state and local governments. For more info, visit mccno.com.
