Cooking with rescued food

The concept of the BENU village – the first eco-village in the Grand Duchy, in Esch, near the French border – became a reality in 2015. It advocates a socio-ecological circular economy. Professionals can rent spaces in the village and carry out their activities on condition that they comply with the BENU charter, which is based on the values of transparency, social responsibility, local production and ecological excellence.

The BENU village is still in its early stages and is expecting the arrival of a clothing upscaling design company, a sales platform for the social upcycling of art, and an anti-waste restaurant. The first anti-waste restaurant in the Grand Duchy showcases both local organic food and efforts to combat food waste; it aims to work exclusively with “rescued” food – food that never made it onto the shelves in the supermarket. Although these foods meet the necessary standards, customers are unwilling to buy them because of their appearance. The restaurant aims to be inclusive. It is still only in its development stage; it is to be built using only recycled materials.

Using all the food produced each year that isn’t eaten by neither humans nor animals, it would be possible to prepare three meals a day for every person on the planet. Every household throws away 100 kilos of food every year. That is scandalous. The BENU restaurant offers an alternative by preparing high-quality meals so that people can be made aware that a different approach is possible. " Georges Kieffer – originator of the BENU Village