Big Business

This would be a for-profit business, with partial proceeds (fairly high) going to a local non-profit (who just happens to educate the public and lobby government for policy change). The supply chain could be operated in one of two ways. People would be paid a flat rate per pound of food they deliver, regardless of what it is. Or paid staff could dumpster dive themselves. In house or contracted work? The price-point should be no lower than $7 and probably no higher than $10, at least in the beginning. The ONLY cost would be labour, which would be paid at the going rate. The idea itself would be well talked about and easily sold to a fair sized market. It would attract only the most interesting people. Meals would be mostly waste. 90% waste for example, with room for the necessities like spices, herbs, garlic, butter etc. Drinks would all be home-brew, served in re-used bottles. But there would be the highest standards of 'domestic-level' cleanliness. We would be transparent about WHO we receive food from, WHERE it came from, HOW it was prepared, etc. Profiles would show real people taking pride in the role they play. The trick would be to SLOWLY remove the social barriers to waste food through an underground movement, global support, and general public education and public relations.

Going Under

But what about something 'underground'? That would probably draw to the appeal of it. But what about a location? You'd never get permission from city hall OR your landlord because it couldn't be insured/licensed. What about if it changes all the time? People wouldn't have time to complain because it would be gone before anyone notice. It would have to be served outdoors, but fine dining style with candles etc. Social media could facilitate the word of mouth between customers, and announce that night's interesting location. There would be two or three options, all prepared during the day. Online marketing would be VERY easy to facilitate. It would be launched in the summer when people want to eat outside and when the weather turns in the fall, and if there is demand, the restaurant could be moved indoors - garages, amphitheaters etc.

Roadkill Smorgasboard

If I could have a dumpster dinner delivered, or perhaps at a restaurant, I wouldn't have any issue with it. I could eat roadkill, knowing it was roadkill, if it didn't have a face and came well prepared part of a well balanced meal. Between road kill and dumpster diving, one could have a really gourmet meal I think. I don't think I'd be alone. I think there could be enough people interested in a big city; some due to the ethics of it, and others the novelty of it. But of course no government or licensing body would ever let you start a business like that.

Pumpkin Squash Curry

The second lady was almost perfect. She was a retired teacher who had some quality years of cooking under her belt. She loved to cook and looked for other random odd jobs as a way to feed her vacation fund. She cooked in her own kitchen on her own time and liked it best that way. Her food was delicious! Pumpkin Squash Curry, Indian Butter Chicken, Sausage Stew, Amazing Coleslaw and she was good at finding bargains. The biggest problem though was scale. I was willing to pay a premium for the service, but I didn't want it to cost too much more than cooking it myself. That sort of 'chore' is worth no more than about $2-3 per meal. So if cooking a meal myself cost $3 for ingredients the most I'd pay (on a daily basis) is $5-6. She was costing me closer to $7-8 which was more than I wanted to spend. $7-8 is on the low end of the cheap restaurant meal that's still moderately healthy - such as Subway or a burger with a salad. Again, the problem was scale.

Auditions

I decided to try hiring someone to cook for me. Keep in mind, I wasn't making a ton of money and paying down my student loan was a priority. I put an add on Craigslist for a personal cook. I was very clear what my intent was. This person would do my shopping; looking for things on sale and high value things like beans, rice, chicken on sale, cheap vegetables etc. I told them they could cook whatever they like, because I wasn't a picky eater, but once I found some of their favourite recipes I'd stick to those. The person would make big batches once a week at their house or mine and put them into tupperware containers for me to pick up. I froze them and mixed weeks up so I had a variety. The idea was to have pre-made, single serving, healthy meals that were CHEAP and HEALTHY and because this person like to cook and have moderate abilities to follow recipes, the meals would be TASTY. And I would pay them $15 an hour, for about 3-4 hours once a week. I had 30-40 responses and a third of those looked like great options. The first girl was in college and cooked for a week. Her boyfriend escorted her to the first meeting because he thought it was so weird. The problem with her was the food was bland because of the budget and her portions were way too far on the low side. In her defense my pots probably weren't big enough but still she didn't buy much to begin with. I didn't have her back the next week.

Time and Money

I've always wanted to do the right things in terms of the environment, but I'm also quite concerned with time. Unfortunately more so. Time is really precious and if it takes too much time and effort, I'm not interested. For example, I hate taking time to cook. But mostly if its just for myself. Generally I like eating at restaurants because the work is done for me and it tastes good. My biggest issue with it is money. It costs a premium to have food cooked for you. Which means I go for cheaper things when I eat out and that generally equates to unhealthier things. And that has another level (but also important) of concern. When I lived in Victoria I too often found myself opting for convenience because it was affordable and saved time. But unfortunately it was at the expense of my money, my health and the environment. So my decision making priorities lie in money, time, my health, the environment in that order.

I love saving money!

I actually get a thrill out of it. I think its so much smarter than making money. If I could do anything, as a profession, for the rest of my life, I would save money. Not as in, keep it in the bank account and watch it grow. I mean save $5 on the cost of a bus ticket. It PAINS me when I waste money or I see others throwing it away. And especially for the really stupid stuff. Like one time I was with these three guys in the west end and instead of walking from Sopers hole to the ferry (1.5km tops) they insisted on taking a cab that cost us $3 each! I said I was going to walk but they gave me such a hard time about being a cheapskate that I buckled. My real friends know me well enough to assume I wouldn't, but other people I don't want them to think I'm a cheapskate. Probably from being called a cheapskate so often when I know I'm not. Just careful with my money. But back to the point, I'd love to MAKE money by saving, but that's impossible.