This sentence may sound crazy, but it is a reality.
Japanese owner Yukako Ichikawa runs her restaurant Wafu in Australia in a very sustainable way. She lives in harmony with nature and believes people should be considerate about our planet´s future and should order and eat only as much as they really can. She is against any form of waste.
She informs her customers about Eat-in Policy: „vegetables and salad on the side are not decorations; they are part of the meal too“. You can leave on your plate only lemon slices, gari (sushi ginger) and wasabi.
Takeaway Policy: „bring your own reusable storage containers or plates.“ Failing to do so may result in refusal of service.
Check more here: http://www.wafu.com.au/index.html
Her rules may sound far too much for western world consumers, but actually are they?
Just remember your last visit in restaurant – you probably can depict served big portions which were not finished.
Imagine how much left overs there are produced every single day. And they are thrown! Because of strict hygienic norms they can not be used for example as food for animals.
Maybe, if more Yukakos were around the globe, we would eat more healthily most likely healthier stuff (as not as much would be needed). Anyway, I still quite like her idea to fine customers for not finishing their plate 
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I always feel guilty when leaving some food on my plate in a restaurant. If I could choose how much I want to eat, it would be better. I like this!
Radka, do you know by any chance if the restaurant is booming or empty? I mean, how many people actually go there?
Personally I think it’s a great idea. People need a kick in the ass sometimes. Having spent much labour hours in the catering industry, I’ve seen so much waste, and so much greed in ordering huge portions which are never finished. So much food that is not sold is thrown away. I asked managers why they don’t distribute perfectly good sandwiches to charities and homeless people (they make new ones every morning and the unsold ones go to the bin in the evening, although there’s nothing wrong with them). I was told that they don’t want homeless people hanging around their premises every night.
This is a good idea for environment but is it good for business?
A great idea. It will get people thinking about waste if nothing else. It might even inspire other sustainable ideas and a whole new way of thinking…
@Hanna, it is certainly a good concept.
@Giedre, unfortunately I do not know how is the place doing, but I am trying to get this info. What you describe in catering industry is quite typical. Sad example - fast food chains throw food which is “older” then an hour. It is terrible waste especially when you know there are homeless people and various sanctuaries that could use it.
@Aija, trying to get the info.
@Lara, if only you were right!
Uffff! We should all visit this restaurant at least once, it might create a different conciousness in people who are never told to “finish what they order”!!!!
If you manage to contact them, Radka, please let us know!
interesting initiative..
@ Andrea and Hassam,
it is “all you can eat” concept just in a different style, I like it as much as you do.
@ Giedre,
not luck yet :(.
I was in Happy Hour Sushi bar recentlly and it was quite the same. Mostly to be strick about clients not taking everyting of course
In my family there is still some kind of thinking that you need to eat everything. it goes back to emptyness of the table and fridge during the socialismus… but it’s changing as well.
In do work for a bbq-company to make some extra cash. Last week I had an interesting conversation with the owner of a catering company who told me how terrible he finds it that he often has to throw away enormous amounts of left overs. We discussed ways of giving it to the needy or homeless.
Ridiculous laws in Europe often prevent a caterer from keeping food or giving it away for free. We are too obsessed with legislation that is for our own safety of health.
@ Iwona, I could not agree more. I was raised in a family where waste of food was not an alternative as both my grandparents and parents had to go through horror of World War II. They taught me to be grateful for food because they could remember lack of it.
@ Johan, legislation can be helpful as well as a real killer. Some laws and policies are sometimes against common sense, even sanity I would say. It is a pity so much food is wasted, especially when you know there people round the corner that need it….
I’m not sure if fining people is the way to go, but it’s certainly a radical approach to waste.
Maybe it is radical however it will certainly make people think about waste.
Wow… that’s harsh
She has a point, but I hope she doesn’t enforce it on children, at least 
A friend of mine went to a monastry in rural China for a week of meditation and she let the person who was serving dinner fill up her plate. To her horror, she found out not even a single drop of sauce could be left on the plate. People had to clean it with bread and eat it. The same monk would then fill the plate up again with hot water so that guests could drink it along with the smallest traces of sauce and rice still left on it. As a result, for the following 6 days my friend never asked for more than what she could eat. It’s a good way to educate people against wasting food, although my friend was worryingly thin by the time she got back to Beijing
Tiziana, thank you for sharing your friend´s story.
I agree we sometimes need a real trigger to change our behaviours. Your friend had a big one.
More people should go to that Chinese monastry or Yukako´s restaurant as waste of food is excessive in western world.
You should never leave any thing in our plates as it is waste of food.
Just imagine how much left overs there are produced every single day. And they are thrown! Because of strict hygienic norms they can not be used for example as food for animals.
These are very intelligent ideas and people will start to respect the natural resources in a better way.