Maxim's launches ‘zero waste’ cooking competition in sustainability push

Hong Kong's Maxim's Group, in partnership with HK Electric, has launched an innovative cooking competition titled "All You Can Cook Culinary Competition" as part of a green initiative, aiming to transform public attitudes toward food waste.

The campaign, which opens for public registration today, challenges participants to create delicious dishes using commonly discarded food parts like vegetable stems, roots, and other leftovers.

The initiative unfolds in two impactful phases.

In the first phase, Maxim's culinary team developed nearly 50 zero-waste recipes across Hong Kong and mainland China, with 13 standout dishes set to debut in selected Maxim's restaurants starting June.

At a recent preview, journalists sampled creative solutions to food waste, including a chili sauce made from toasted bread crusts blended with garlic and peppers, a Japanese-style curry rice featuring beef tongue trimmings and broccoli stems, and deep-fried rice balls stuffed with sukiyaki-flavored beef and egg yolk.

The competition's second phase invites public participation across four categories: Family, Secondary School, Tertiary Institute, and Open.

From May 29 to July 24, 2025, contestants can submit recipes that either transform food scraps into complete dishes or present a zero-waste meal comprising at least two courses.

Six finalists from each category will compete in live cooking showdowns, judged on waste reduction effectiveness, flavor, presentation, creativity, sustainability, and technique.

Winners will receive dining and shopping vouchers and see their recipes published in a digital cookbook promoting sustainable living through reduced food waste and lower carbon footprints.