Returning for its second year with nearly double the restaurant partners, the week-long event features Michelin-starred restaurants, James Beard Award winners, and beloved neighborhood classics, all making the commitment to zero food waste for the week with the help of Mill in their kitchens. Additionally, the chefs from each restaurant will be offering a special dish or cocktail on the menu that embodies their unique perspective on no-waste cooking.
Celebrated Chefs Tackle Food Waste with Mill
Mill’s mission is to keep food out of landfills, and chefs deeply understand the value of food and efficiency in their kitchens. Rooted in a shared belief that food is not meant to be wasted, Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week galvanizes the most exciting voices in the city’s restaurant community to showcase a new way to think about our food and our own routines at home in the kitchen.
Making it clean and easy for even the busiest kitchens to prevent food waste, Mill recycles food scraps automatically into nutrient-rich grounds that can be used at home, put in a curbside organics bin, or sent back to Mill to feed farms.
During Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week, Mill is proudly partnering with Reclaimed Organics to offer food scraps collection to participating restaurants. Food scraps and grounds processed by Mill food recyclers will be transported to a local community garden in downtown Manhattan to be processed into compost that is used at the garden and on street trees throughout the city.
“Restaurants are the soul of a city, and chefs inspire how we all think about food,” said Harry Tannenbaum, Cofounder and President, Mill. “Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week brings together incredible talent to show how a shared commitment to a more sustainable food system can spark creativity and raise awareness about how we can all treat food as the valuable resource it is.”
Where to Dine During Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week (September 29 – October 5)
Diners can participate in Mill’s Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week by booking reservations at participating restaurants and ordering their special no-waste dishes:
Agi’s Counter , the Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in Crown Heights offering market-driven cuisine with Jewish and Eastern European influences.
- Trout and Beets : A whole, butterflied rainbow trout with dill pulp pesto, herbs, and dill oil, served with fire-roasted beets over blue cheese with caramelized honey.
Bangkok Supper Club , the West Village restaurant inspired by Bangkok’s late-night food scene, which has received a two-star review from The New York Times.
- Prawn Satay : Charcoal-grilled tiger prawns served with cilantro, pickled cucumber, shallot, red chilies, and a cashew butter sauce. The pickle juice is repurposed in a special cocktail, A Jard Martini
Cafe Mado , the beloved neighborhood restaurant in Prospect Heights, which was named one of “100 Best Restaurants in NYC” by The New York Times.
- Blackened Skate, Summer Sofrito, and Carolina Gold Rice : The sofrito is made from juicing tomatoes and peppers, slow-roasting the normally discarded pulp, and finishing with the fresh juices for added depth and flavor.
Confidant , the first restaurant of its kind to debut in Industry City from longtime Roberta’s chefs.
- Char Broiled Clams : Made with tomato butter, breadcrumb and herbs. Butter is made using garlic and herb scraps, and breadcrumbs are made from leftover dinner loaves.
Corima , the Michelin-starred, James Beard-nominated restaurant named #36 on the inaugural North America 50 Best Restaurant list, which pays homage to the Northern region of Mexico.
- Grilled Cuttlefish Sope : Finished with a pipián sauce made from the liver. A zero-waste approach that highlights the whole ingredient.
Dept of Culture , the James Beard-nominated restaurant featuring a tasting menu inspired by north-central Nigerian cooking.
- Dodo Ati Ice Cream : Inspired by Boli (roasted plantains), Dodo Ati Ice Cream features fried plantains with brown sugar, served with vanilla ice cream.
Family Meal at Blue Hill , the Greenwich Village restaurant from Chef Mark Ordaz.
- Meatball : A fish and chicken meatball served on fishbone skewers with a burnt herb stem dressing, and a smoked glaze made from trims of onion, carrot, pear skin, plum scrap and squash trim stock.
HAGS , the one-of-a-kind, queer-owned, fine dining restaurant from James Beard-nominated and Food & Wine Best New Chef 2025 Telly Justice (she/her), and Wine Director Camille Lindsley (she/her).
- Mushroom Grits and Squash Carpaccio : Local corn grits are cooked with squash seeds, squash tea, and minced Afterlife Ag Mushrooms, topped with Afterlife Ag mushrooms and truffles, and accompanied with a mousse made from mushroom stems, damaged mushrooms, and truffle trim. The dish is served with pattypan squash carpaccio. Thinly shaved squash is topped with pickled garlic scapes, fermented squash seed “creme fraiche,” a dressing made with fermented squash trim, and marjoram.
JR & Son , the storied Italian-American restaurant and bar in Williamsburg.
- She Sells Sea Shells Cocktail : An oyster-infused vodka martini with olive brine and colatura (Italian fish sauce), served with a shucked oyster.
- Catch & Patch : Fresh pasta scraps from leftover ravioli dough, with anchovy oil (a by-product of frying anchovies), anchovy crunch and parsley.
June , the natural wine bar in Cobble Hill. June is returning for its second Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week.
- Brinde de Lisboa : With Laurel Bakery sourdough, Jimmy Nardello jam, heirloom tomato, and boquerones, made using existing ingredients in-house and their byproducts to complete the mise for each ingredient.
Laliko , the Georgian restaurant in the heart of the West Village.
- Topless Khinkali : The restaurant’s iconic Khinkali dumpling (a centuries-old Georgian old dish) is traditionally made with a small dough handle at the top. For this week, Laliko leaves the handle (which is almost always discarded) behind for a “topless” version.
Nami Nori , the acclaimed, Michelin Bib Gourmand Japanese restaurant known for its open-style temaki. Nami Nori is returning for its second Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week.
- Butter Poached Lobster Dip : Served with rice chips, yuzu gelee and crisp celery. Poaching butter from butter-poached lobster temaki and lobster shells and heads are repurposed for this exclusive dip. The chips utilize unused sushi rice that is blended and fried.
NARO , the contemporary Korean restaurant from NA:EUN Hospitality (Atomix, Atoboy) in Rockefeller Center.
- Octopus with Kimchi Porridge, Brussels Sprouts, Cured Seaweed : Octopus is braised with vegetable trimmings, while the base of the porridge is cooked with leftover kimchi juice, transforming what might otherwise be discarded into a rich, tangy foundation. Vegetable trimmings are then dehydrated and blended into an umami powder that finishes the dish.
Ops , the James Beard Award Semifinalist pizza restaurant in Bushwick and the East Village.
- Ops Tuscan Kale Rib Calzone : Made with marinated kale stems, an herb oil made of herb stems, and confit garlic, a mix of salami ends (guanciale, mortadella, and coppa), ricotta, and mozzarella. The ricotta is made with the whey from the mozzarella curd production, which is also usually discarded.
Pitt’s , the new, Southern-influenced restaurant in Red Hook from the Agi’s Counter team.
- Zero Waste Pineapple Tepache Cocktail : A non-alcoholic, fermented pineapple scrap soda cocktail. As pineapple juice is already utilized in Pitt’s’ bar program, a tepache makes use of the peels, ensuring they are not discarded.
- Parmesan Rind Broth with Duck and Egg Noodles : Duck confit in a parmesan rind broth with egg noodles and thyme. Parmesan rinds are reused and reduced down into a flavorful stock that’s primed for early fall
Place des Fêtes , the popular wine bar in Clinton Hill from the team behind Cafe Mado.
- Fish Bits : Made with parts of the fish that are commonly discarded after butchery (head, collar and tail). The Fish Bits are brined, grilled over charcoal, glazed with a sweet/savory “unagi glaze,” and garnished with a fresh citrus cheek.
Postcard Bakery , the Japanese bakery and bubble tea shop in the West Village from the team behind Nami Nori.
- Mango Verrine : Served with mango trim, chiffon cake trim and house diplomat cream.
Raf’s , the restaurant from the acclaimed chef Mary Attea, a Food & Wine Best New Chef 2024.
- Passatelli with Parmigiano Reggiano Brodo & Oyster Mushroom : Leftover bread crumbs are used to create the pasta dough, and parmigiano reggiano rinds and oyster mushroom trim are used to enhance the brodo.
Rhodora Wine Bar , the Fort Greene wine bar that strives to be the first zero waste wine bar of its kind. Rhodora Wine Bar is returning for its second Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week.
- Summer Radish Toast : Roasted radish toast with chili garlic butter. Radishes and butter are repurposed from existing dishes.
Smithereens , the seasonal, seafood-focused restaurant that received a rare three-star review from The New York Times, which also honored the restaurant as one of America’s Best Restaurants 2025.
- Fish Head Terrine : Sea bream, black cod and amberjack heads (utilizing all parts of the heads currently being used at the restaurant) are steamed with thyme, white wine, and onions, seasoned with black pepper, fennel pollen, and herbs, and set in a mold. The remaining stock is poured over the meat, which is then chilled. The terrine is sliced thin, gently warmed, dressed with garlic oil and fennel pollen, and served with pickled peppers and market greens.
The Musket Room , the Michelin-starred restaurant in Greenwich Village from acclaimed chef Mary Attea, a Food & Wine Best New Chef 2024. The Musket Room is returning for its second Make Food, Not Waste Restaurant Week.
- Razor Clam, Potato, Leeks, Sourdough Soup : Shells and scraps from razor clams are used to create a rich stock and flavorful clam butter. The soup combines the stock and butter with slow-cooked potatoes and leeks, and is topped with a crisp, briny crumb made with dehydrated leftover house sourdough and potato skins toasted in clam butter.
Enter to win a Mill
During Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week, diners at participating restaurants can share on Instagram with hashtag #MakeFoodNotWasteNYC and tag @mill to be entered to win a Mill.
About Mill Industries Inc. (“Mill”)
Mill makes it easy to prevent food waste at home with an innovative new kitchen experience and pathways that keep food out of landfills. Food isn’t trash. Together, we can do better.
Mill is a waste prevention technology company, and was founded in 2020 by Matt Rogers and Harry Tannenbaum, who worked together at Nest, building the iconic Nest Learning Thermostat and other smart home products. The lessons they learned about encouraging new habits at home that are good for people and the planet were applied in creating Mill to change our perception of waste, starting in the kitchen.
Mill is a trademark of Mill Industries Inc.
Follow Mill: Instagram
SOURCE Mill Industries Inc.
