One of the main tenets of sustainable F&B is to use resources wisely— which, as Fairmont Pittsburgh Executive Chef Andrew Morrison has found, can require resourcefulness. And one whole cow.
Whenhecameonboardnearlytwoyearsagoto start the F&B program at the Fairmont Pitts- burgh, Executive Chef Andrew Morrison felt strongly that whatever he did should reflect the LEEDGold–certified hotel’s environmental stew- ardship. So he started sourcing as many local ingredients as he could. That included grass-fed beef, because “the nat- ural life and diet of acowis that itwalks around the
to find a “very good local farmer” —John Burns (www.burnsangus.com)—whoraises grass-fed beef, and who agreed to sell him a whole cow as often as he wanted one. The“whole-animal cookery” concept, Morri-
son said, meant that he and his culinary team started “really trying to find every opportunity to use the entire cow,” including primal cuts for steaks, making ground beef, and using the bones for stock. But, he said, “at the end of this,wewere left with some fat that wasn’t being utilized.” Even after rendering the fatdownfor frying, there was always some left over.
Cleaning Up When Morrison started searching on the Internet for“what other thingswecould do with this fat,” he said, he learned that beef tallow can be used to make soap—andan idea was born. Morrisonand his culinary teamdid a couple of
field and eats grass all day,” he said, “whereas com- mercially raised [cows] spend their life in a pen eat- ing corn. It’s totally unnatural.” Not only did Morrison want local grass-fed
beef, he also wanted fresh grass-fed beef, which presented a challenge. Many of the local farms that produce grass-fed beef on a smaller scale freeze the beef the moment the cow is slaughtered, “simply because they don’t have themarket to sell awhole cowimmediately,” he said, and they can’t just sell restaurateurs choice cuts and then be left with the rest of the animal. But Morrison was able
trial runs using a simple recipe of tallow, water, coconut oil, blended vegetableandolive oils, lye,and natural aromatic oils, and met with success. The process takes about two weeks and is completed entirely in the hotel’s kitchens. A line of signature soaps, launched inMarch, isnowsold in the hotel’s spa and provided as an in-room amenity for VIP guests. “And if we have groups coming in,” Mor- rison said, “the sales teammay request the soap.” Hegives his sous chefmuch of the credit for run-
ning with the idea. “She’s been working on it for several months,” he said. “When I started doing this, the guidelines were simply that whatever soaps we make, the ingredients should reflect the culinary side of the kitchen—soweuse a lot of edi- ble ingredients.We do some with tea and we do some with oatmeal andweuse a lot of herbs, such as lavender andmint.They’re all things thatwould double as ingredients in the kitchen.”
ON_THE_WEB: Read more about Executive Chef Andrew Morrison and the soap project on the Fairmont Pittsburgh’s Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/FairmontPittsburgh.
34 pcma convene November 2011 ILLUSTRATION BY TERRY ALLEN
That’s Made With What? While Executive Chef Andrew Morrison said the soap pro- gram “has met with a huge positive response,” it’s also been an educational opportunity. “I think a lot of people really didn’t know that soap is made from fat,” he said. “Mostly you get puzzled looks —there’s a lack of understanding of what soap is. I don’t think I fully under- stood what soap was until I started making it. The initial response from people is sort of curious—they don’t understand how you’re doing this, and then it piques their interest. And they think it’s kind of cool.”
Michelle Russell is editor in chief of Convene.
GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT: The Fairmont Pittsburgh’s signature handmade soaps are made exclusively in its kitchens, using re- claimed and all-natural ingredients.