Masterchef judge’s business partner secures RTP funding

The sector traditionally uses corrugated boxes, but their replacement with plastic boxes is being touted as a more environmentally friendly and more cost-effective alternative, a move Mascarenhas reckons can cut costs and waste by 20%.

Mascarenhas has been appointed to the position of local-to-London champion by the South East of England’s Sustainable Food and Farming Strategy Board and been awarded the £20,000 funding by the South East England Development Agency.

“At the moment, suppliers use cardboard boxes to send their produce to restaurants,” Mascarenhas said. “After use, these boxes are disposed of. This is not only costly in terms of the environment, but also for the business, as each box costs more than 50 pence each.

“A collapsible box will cost 25 pence a month to rent,” he added.

Mascarenhas said that switching to plastic collapsible boxes would enable his company, Secretts Farm Direct, to run four vans rather than five, because they can be loaded more efficiently. A restaurant would save around £2,000 through cutting waste disposal costs.

Mascarenhas, a former restaurateur, co-founded Secretts Farm Direct with business partner Gregg Wallace, the judge and co-presenter of the BBC’s Masterchef TV programme.

The business sources its produce from Secretts Farm – a family-run business based in Milford, Surrey – and another 20-plus growers in the South East.

Secretts Farm supplies London-based customers including Michelin-starred restaurants and local pubs. Mascarenhas is working closely with a number of restaurants of varying size to introduce the plastic collapsible box, developing systems and training staff.

“The boxes will come with a bar code, allowing us to charge a deposit and for the restaurant to know how many boxes it’s using.”

The project will run until March 2010 and its findings will be shared with growers and restaurant owners.

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