Francesco Mazzei and Tom Aikens fight food waste with ready, steady cook-off

Chefs Francesco Mazzei and Tom Aikens will go head to head in a “Ready Steady Cook” challenge this evening to raise awareness of food waste.

They will each create a variety of sharing dishes from ingredients provided by The Felix Project charity. The surplus food, from supermarkets, wholesalers and retailers, would otherwise go to waste. Diners will try the dishes and vote for their favourite using the BBC show’s iconic red tomato and green pepper score cards.

All proceeds from the night will go to Felix, which delivers surplus food to charities so they can provide healthy meals to those most in need.

The chefs will have help from staff at their restaurants. Aikens’s establishments include British brasserie Tom’s Kitchen, which has branches in Chelsea and Canary Wharf. Mazzei’s Italian restaurants include Sartoria in Mayfair and Radici in Islington. The event will be held on February 19 in the open kitchen at Mazzei’s newest restaurant Fiume, part of the Battersea Power Station development.

​Mazzei said: “I am looking forward to raising money for a great cause like The Felix Project. It’s going to be great to host Tom and his team south of the river; things are bound to get pretty competitive, but ultimately the public will decide their favourite.”

It comes after the Evening Standard charity appeal that raised more than £1 million for Felix.

Tickets cost £35 and include a three-course meal and a glass of fizz. Buy tickets here.