The festive season is a great excuse to create new and delicious recipes for friends and family but new research by KitchenAid has revealed that nine in ten Aussies usually discard more than a quarter of food during the festive season[1].

Last Christmas, eight in ten (81%) Australians spent time in the kitchen cooking a meal from scratch and three quarters (76%) spent up to $250 on food for Christmas Day alone[2]. Despite the amount of time and money spent, the majority of the population (95%) acknowledge they have leftovers.

Commissioned to mark the launch of the new KitchenAid Pro Line Series blender, the research shows that the most common reason (44%) as to why items are binned is because food goes off by the time consumers get to re-use or eat them.

Richard Babekuhl, Marketing Director at KitchenAid Australia and New Zealand, said: “We know leftovers are synonymous with the festive season – the proof is in the leftover Christmas pudding – but it’s shocking that so much food goes to waste.

“Our research shows that although 12% of Australians are convinced there is nothing to get them to use leftovers, having more time and recipe inspiration would help 65%. With this in mind, we’ve teamed up with food rescue organisation, OzHarvest, to create a suite of new recipes, videos and free culinary workshops with OzHarvest Executive Head Chef, Travis Harvey.”

Set in the grounds of Camperdown Commons, an urban farm development, KitchenAid and OzHarvest will host four free culinary masterclasses with Travis on Saturday 19 November:

Workshop 1        10:30am – 10:50am

Workshop 2        11:10am – 11:30am

Workshop 3        11:50am – 12.10pm

Workshop 4        12.30pm – 12.50pm

To register interest, consumers should email [email protected] or call Emma on 9281 3933.

The hands-on masterclasses with Travis will demonstrate new seasonal recipes that people can use to make their food go further using the new KitchenAid Pro Line Series blender. The Pro Line Series blender has been created in collaboration with consumers and industry experts to create the most powerful home blender on the market. With a power dial that takes it to 11 and a 3.5 Peak HP heavy-duty motor, more peak sustained power is delivered at the blades minimising food waste. Its power ensures event the toughest of ingredients are pulverised including whole fruits, nut, seeds, ice and fibrous vegetables.

Travis comments, “Our goal is to help nourish the country whilst educating and engaging with consumers on how to maximise the food they have. We’re delighted to partner with KitchenAid for the launch of the new Pro Line Series blender to help raise awareness of how people can make the most of their Christmas leftovers. We see a spike in excess food during the festive season, so it’s essential we find inventive and delicious ways to make our food go further.”

The most common grocery items and meals thrown away during the festive period include:

• Dressing, dips and condiments
• Fruit and vegetables
• Bread, dairy and desserts
• Meats, including cold meats
• Seafood

 The top five foods thrown away after Christmas lunch:

• Salad
• Gravy or cranberry sauce
• Stuffing
• Vegetables
• Potato and pumpkins

[1] Statistic: 90% of 25-55 year olds indicate they discard more than a quarter of food during the festive season.

[2] Statistic: 76% of Australians spend up to $250 on Christmas Day food alone – excluding alcohol.