​Douglas McMaster is a pioneering British chef renowned for championing sustainable dining. His culinary journey includes tenures at esteemed establishments such as St. John, The Fat Duck, and Noma. In 2014 he opened the world's first zero-waste restaurant, Silo, initially established in Brighton and later relocated to London's Hackney Wick. Silo operates on a pre-industrial food system, utilizing techniques like fermentation, pickling, and preserving to ensure every ingredient is fully utilized. Beyond the kitchen, he shares his philosophy through public speaking engagements, including a TED Talk titled 'Waste Is a Failure of the Imagination,' and contributes as a faculty member at the MAD Academy, inspiring future culinary leaders to rethink food systems and sustainability.

In this episode we cover: 

• A digression on our TEDx talks 

• Being raised in a house without electricity 

• What it means to feel psychologically ‘full’

• How not feeling good enough can fuel you 

• From pot-washer to chef at St John, The Fat Duck and Noma 

• Why neurodivergence is so common in kitchens 

• The risks that come with diverging from the norm 

• World tour of restaurants that think differently 

• What happens when someone sees potential in you and stokes it 

• Why does waste exist and how to get rid of it? 

• The best shortbread of his life 

• What Douglas has been building with Silo 

• Leading with creativity and innovation 

•  Why there is no such thing as cheap food 

• The power of storytelling for business 

• Building a new system within a broken system 

  
  

Mentions:

Restaurants: St John’s, The Fat Duck, Noma

Joost Bakker - Australian zero-waste activist, artist and designer 

The One Straw Revolution - Masanobu Fukuoka

Links: 

https://www.instagram.com/mcmasterchef/
https://www.silolondon.com/