The words seem ridiculous and hopeless to achieve considering that in Norway alone each of us throws about 73 kilos of food every year. We throw away too much food. Food that is still edible and also in top shape. In recent decades we have been so spoiled, the food is so cheap, and we do not bother if we have to throw away food. It costs us nothing. And the consequence is that our planet is suffering. According to the UN, 1/3 of all food produced is not eaten. And it's a big problem when we spend a lot of resources on food production. In addition, we have an incredible number of people in the world who do not have enough food.

«Bread is gold». This is the title of a book written by Massimo Bottura, one of Italy's and the world's greatest chefs. The story behind the title comes from Massimo when he was little, and the best thing he and his brother could be served on the kitchen table by their mother was stale bread with hot milk and a little sugar on top. It was like gold on his plate!

That says a lot about how valuable the simplest homemade food can be. And that tells me how important it is not to waste food. Because you can make GOLD from the simplest things in the kitchen. You just have to be creative.

Bread is a very good example of food you should never throw away. It's amazing how much delicious you can make from stale bread, and the use of bread lies deep within cultures, religions and history.

Still, 20% of the food we throw away is bread. (source ntfe.no) Norwegians throw 170,000 loaves of bread every day.

I have a big passion for bread. And like Massimo Bottura, I think that bread is gold.

Not too many years ago, people knew how to appreciate what they had, and they had so many ways of conserving and store food. They never threw food, because they couldn’t afford it.

In Italy the way of cooking with few ingredients is still very much used and relevant today. The dishes are called Cibi Poveri, which means food for the poor. We have the same expression in Norway; Fattigmannskost. It's amazing how good and interesting dishes you can serve, based on few and basic ingredients. And I think we should appreciate these traditions more.

Thank you Bruno Barbieri. Your words "in the kitchen we throw nothing!" (Nella cucina non buttiamo niente) has burned into my head and reminds me every day.

And thanks to Massimo Bottura who is so dedicated to this topic and continues to work on fantastic food waste projects. He has a great influence on chefs around the world with the motto; No more excuses. He challenges everyone to take responsibility for their actions around food, cooking and food waste.

Stories and recipes on how you can use stale bread will come here at lente.no.

Also check out www.cookingisanactoflove.org. An initiative from Massimo Bottura that encourage people to be creative with what they have in the kitchen. An act of love for people and the planet.