What do cucumber peels, onion skins, and leftover pasta have in common? They’re the stars of Conscious Cooking – Asian Delights, the brand-new cookbook launched by HKU’s School of Biological Sciences in partnership with GREEN Hospitality and the award-winning food-saving app CHOMP!

With Asia producing 50% of the world’s food waste (and Hong Kong alone tossing 3,437 tons daily!), this initiative aims to reduce food waste and promote sustainable cooking.

This cookbook isn’t just eye-opening; it’s packed with mouthwatering recipes that turn "trash," such as lemon peels, leek tops, potato skins, and other leftovers, into "treasure."

Featuring twenty exclusive recipes from nine of Hong Kong’s leading local chefs and rising talents, all proceeds from the cookbook will go towards the Foodlink Foundation.

Top chefs like May Chow (Little Bao), Barry Quek (Whey), Krzysztof Czerwinski (Soho House Hong Kong), and Zinc Leung (Sushi Zinc) are whipping up kitchen wizardry for this cookbook, alongside creative twists from CHOMP’s founder Carla Martinesi and HKU students.

To celebrate the launch, foodies and sustainability champions gathered at Soho House Hong Kong for a deliciously eye-opening celebration that featured live cooking demos, mouth-watering samples, a lively panel, and an exclusive sneak peek at this game-changing cookbook.

Get ready to try recipes such as Dragon Well Tea Shrimp, a recipe by Chef May Chow, fragrant Dry Assam Lemon Noodles by Chef Barry Quek, and deliciously meaty Filipino Chicken Bistek, crafted by Chef Jen Balisi.

“Food waste is one of the most pressing issues of our time. This cookbook serves as an invitation to rethink how we view food waste. We’ve been determined to find ways in which these overlooked ingredients can be repurposed — not just to reduce waste, but to create something meaningful and beneficial for human health,” Professor Jetty Chung-Yung Lee, holding an MPhil, PhD, SFHEA specializing in Food & Nutritional Science, shared.

"Conscious Cooking – Asian Delights" is available now as an eBook, priced at just HK$100.  Or you can pre-order a hard cover copy (priced at HK$300) from the Foodlink Foundation website here.

To stay in the loop, visit Food Waste to Good Taste on their Instagram. Visit Green Hospitality on their website, Instagram and Facebook, CHOMP on their website and Instagram, and Knowledge Exchange at The University of Hong Kong on their website.