Massachusetts chef turning spent grain into snacks in effort to reduce food waste
BOSTON – Kyle Fiasconaro hates the idea of food waste.
"I come from a cooking background where nothing gets wasted. I think most chefs, I would like to think all chefs, like to think that you are going to use everything," said Fiasconaro of Brewer's Food.
The chef found himself at a crossroads when he witnessed local grains being thrown out at a Brewery in New York. So when he relocated to Massachusetts, he stopped into Lamplighter Brewery with a plan.
"I walked in with a plastic bag and I asked for some spent grain and immediately, the owner brewer came out. He introduced himself and said 'Come here any time you want,'" Fiasconaro recalled.
That's when the process of upcycling the grains began. Fiasconaro met with other businesses and turned those grains into cookies, chips and crackers.
"I learned more and more that people really care about crackers," Fiasconaro said. "They want it to be the perfect crunch, the perfect shape, the perfect size, texture."
Fiasconaro said the business is exactly what he had always hoped to accomplish.
"There's lots of jobs I could have. I could do anything. But this is something that I feel I am doing good for the world," he said.