According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally; that is, about 1.3 billion tonnes per year. In developed countries, some 300 million tonnes of edible fruit and vegetables get discarded annually because they do not meet retailers’ or consumers’ standards for the “perfect” looking produce. This wasted food would be sufficient to feed the more than 800 million people who do not have enough food to lead a healthy life.

To bring attention to this issue, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), FAO and other partners launched in 2012 a global campaign on food waste called Think, Eat, Save. The campaign aims to reduce food loss and waste along the entire chain of food production and consumption by focusing on consumers, retailers and the hospitality industry.

In the spirit of the Think, Eat, Save campaign, a two-person culinary enterprise in Berlin, Germany, is providing an innovation solution to addressing food waste—making “unattractive” produce appealing. Culinary Misfits is the brainchild of Lea Brumsack and Tanja Krakowski, who founded their catering company in 2012 by focusing on less than perfect produce.

DD: Why did you start Culinary Misfits—and how did you come up with the name?

TK: My business partner Lea Brumsack and I are designers by education and we wrote our theses on food culture, food waste and the overall food industry. During our academic research, we dove deeper into the subject and we realized that in supermarkets all vegetables and fruit are perfect. We started to ask ourselves how can this be because nature isn’t perfect so where do the “misfits” end up—the carrots with three branches, the oversized zucchinis and so on. The more we researched, the more we realized that food waste because of produce not being perfect is a serious issue. 

At the beginning of 2012, we decided to work together, initially more as a social action initiative and less so as a business. We opened a stall at a food market hall in Berlin showcasing different misfits and providing information on food waste, and the interest in what we were doing took us by surprise. Our catering business grew from there, underpinned by the social side of educating people on the issue to show that misfits are actually good to eat and that we all have a role to play in conserving the food treasures we have locally. 

DD. What’s required to change people’s perceptions so that “ugly” vegetables have value? 

TK: We don’t call them ugly—we think misfits are actually more beautiful than, for example, a perfect carrot. Effecting change has to happen on many different levels. Consumers need to be made aware that a curved carrot tastes as good as a perfectly straight one or that an oversized beetroot is equally fine. Beyond consumers, there needs to be a substantial shift in the industry itself, from supermarkets to traders, as they have the power to change perceptions and influence what ends up on peoples’ plates. 

Politics plays an equally important role. While European Union regulations regarding the size and shape of vegetables are starting to disappear, farmers, traders and supermarkets still impose aesthetic criteria more out of habit, because it is what they got used to. The classic example is the former European Union norm that required cucumbers to be perfectly straight in order for it to have a certain classification. Obviously, farmers, traders and supermarkets all had an interest in ensuring a cucumber was straight. This rule existed in part for logistical reasons—it is easier to pack and ship perfect produce—but this argument is no longer socially responsible. 

DD. How to replicate your idea to other cities and countries?

TK: Misfit produce exists the world over, and in countries like Germany and elsewhere in Europe people are gradually becoming aware of the issue. The big challenge for many is they don’t know what to do or how to tackle it as a consumer. We offer up advice now for people who want to adapt our concept, for example restaurant owners. After working with misfits for so long, we collected quite a bit of knowledge over the years.

Our concept can be also applied in other places, and restaurants, for instance, could start sourcing misfit produce. This small act would go a long way in cutting back on food waste, because for the consumer it doesn't make a difference if a soup was made with straight carrots or crooked ones. Misfits are generally not noticeable after a dish has been prepared for serving. Promoting misfit produce can and must become more mainstream because the amount of food that gets trashed globally because of appearance is really shocking. Take bread—there is an enormous amount of bread wasted because of our desire for fresh bread. We are working on repurposing stale bread and coming up with recipes that give value to yesterday’s loaves.

DD. Since launching Culinary Misfits are you seeing any changes in the broader food selling industry?

TK: While there have been some changes at supermarkets, it remains a niche area. Some larger supermarket chains in France and Germany have special offers to promote misfit produce, but it is mostly a temporary action. Nonetheless, we find this development exciting because a few years ago such an event at a large supermarket would have been unthinkable. We really hope to see misfit produce become a regular item on offer.

DD. What are peoples’ reactions to misfit produce?

TK: People are generally very positive and open to the idea, and they often don’t notice the shape or appearance of a vegetable, especially when it is prepared or used in a dish. At food markets, we have had instances where people were surprised we were selling deformed vegetables and would ask why they should pay for such “waste” as farmers would throw them away regardless. We attempt to convince the consumer otherwise, clarifying that the appearance doesn’t impact the fact that a farmer still worked to grow and harvest the vegetables and other people were involved in bringing it to a market to be sold, therefore warranting a price. Ultimately, it is about changing minds and encouraging the value of misfit produce. Of course, working with misfit produce is high maintenance—peeling a carrot with a couple of branches is much harder than a straight one. More love and devotion are required, but that is what makes misfit produce special.