How Chef Matias Mardones combined data and creativity to reduce food waste by 72%

At 25hours Hotel Jakarta The Oddbird, Executive Chef Matias Mardones and his team are combining data with culinary creativity to tackle food waste. Using Winnow Vision, the team has gained greater visibility into what is being wasted, helping them make smarter production decisions and find new uses for ingredients that might otherwise be discarded.

Since installing Winnow in August 2025, the hotel has achieved a 72% reduction in waste as a percentage of sales, with an annualised Rp180 million reduction in waste value.

Seeing waste through data

With almost 20 years of experience as a chef, including 12 years working across Asia, Matias has seen first-hand how much food and resources can be lost in busy hospitality kitchens. Today, he oversees the culinary operation at 25hours Hotel Jakarta The Oddbird.

Winnow gives Matias and his team greater visibility into what is being discarded. The data revealed some unexpected sources of waste, including vegetables, rice and fruit trimmings. Plate waste also emerged as a significant challenge.Rather than relying on assumptions, the team can use this information to understand what guests are actually consuming and where changes are needed.

“Winnow allows us to review and adjust our menus based on real data rather than simply guessing what people like.”

Matias Mardones | Executive Chef, 25hours Hotel Jakarta The Oddbird

Turning insight into action

Winnow’s data has helped Matias turn those insights into practical changes across the kitchen. The team now reviews menu rotations according to what guests actually consume. Dishes that repeatedly generate waste can be removed or replaced with alternatives that better reflect guest preferences.

The kitchen has also moved towards cooking buffet food in smaller batches. Rather than preparing everything at once, the team monitors consumption and replenishes progressively, helping reduce overproduction while maintaining choice for guests.For Matias, the financial connection is straightforward: reducing overproduction and throwing away less food means reducing unnecessary food costs.

Results

-72% reduction in waste as % of sales
-20,000 meals saved annually
-8.2 tonnes food waste saved annually
-Rp180,000,000 annualised reduction in waste value
-35.1 tonnes CO₂e saved annually

Creativity gives ingredients a second life

Data has not only changed how much the kitchen produces. It has encouraged Matias and his team to think differently about what they consider waste. One of Matias’ favourite examples is Tepache, a fermented drink made using pineapple peels. After identifying the amount of pineapple peel being discarded, the team began fermenting the peels to create a beverage that can be served across the hotel. The same mindset extends to other ingredients. The team has found ways to turn leftovers and trimmings into sauces, infused oils and garnishes, including using onion skins for decoration.

“Instead of immediately thinking that something is waste, we ask ourselves, ‘Can we use this somewhere else?’”

Matias Mardones | Executive Chef, 25hours Hotel Jakarta The Oddbird

For Matias, this shift in thinking is as important as the technology itself. Identifying waste gives the team an opportunity to ask what can be prevented and what can be creatively given a second life.

Making food waste a team effort

Matias believes lasting change depends on bringing the whole culinary team on the journey.

With around 70 people in his kitchen, training is focused not simply on telling employees to waste less, but on helping them understand why it matters. That means connecting food waste with its environmental, operational and financial impact and encouraging team members to contribute their own ideas.

“It's not enough to tell someone, ‘Don't waste food.’ They need to understand the impact behind it environmentally, operationally, and financially.”

Matias Mardones | Executive Chef, 25hours Hotel Jakarta The Oddbird

The hotel is also extending the conversation beyond the kitchen. After identifying the scale of plate waste, the team introduced food waste messaging through screens, tables and other communication points around the hotel.

The aim is to encourage guests to take the quantity they want and return for more, rather than taking food that ultimately goes uneaten.

Start by measuring

For Matias, measurement is the starting point for meaningful change. Once chefs can see what is being wasted, they can understand where the problems are and make more informed decisions about menus, production and ingredients.

At 25hours Hotel Jakarta The Oddbird, that combination of data, teamwork and culinary creativity is helping make food waste reduction part of everyday kitchen operations, while delivering measurable financial and environmental benefits.

Matias’ advice to other chefs is simple:

“I think this is my advice to everyone: work together, work as a team, and understand why we’re doing this.”