“RE: Lunch”：Reusing of non-standard vegetables

Food loss is a familiar topic these days, as we hear about food that cannot be shipped even though it is edible.
The concept of “RE: Lunch” is to purchase such ingredients directly
from producers and turn them into lunch menus.

Last summer, I visited Kamos, a farm in Kasama City, Ibaraki Prefecture,
that uses no chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
I saw piles of komatsuna leaves that had been stripped to meet shipping standards,
I saw piles of peeled outer leaves of komatsuna that were being discarded to meet shipping standards.
The outer leaves are discarded because they may change color during shipping or to make them uniform in size,
In fact, the outer leaves are the part of komatsuna that is bathed in sunlight, has a rich flavor,
and is the best part of komatsuna.

We therefore decided to purchase these outer leaves at a reasonable price and make them into a dish.
At RE: Lunch, we have been using this organic komatsuna in curries and sauces such as Genovese.
With this project, we hope to address food loss in a sustainable way.