Slovakian-born chef Vojtech Vegh ran the world's first zero-waste vegan restaurant in Cambodia before returning to Bratislava a few years ago.

"I knew I wanted to be zero waste," he says. "Since there wasn't good availability of organic and high quality meat products in Cambodia, I decided to go vegan using the best of what was on hand and was grown locally in Cambodia, so it basically happened to be zero waste and it just happened to be vegan.

"The restaurant was also zero waste and there were no animal elements in any of the dining room materials – everything was locally made. I was serving a 10-course tasting menu for dinner and a simple casual lunch, making sure I'm using every bit of every ingredient."

So what might diners expect from the taster menu?

"For example, cold watermelon soup, which I utilized every part of a watermelon in like seven different ways, and that I put it together on a plate only complemented by a few drops of basil oil, which is like the strongest essence of a watermelon on the plate without having any waste."

Customer reaction is vital to any chef, and Vegh -– author of Surplus: The food waste guide for chefs – was pleased to note that while many agreed with the idea behind the production, the proof of the pudding was in the eating – and the diners loved it.

"The most common feedback I had was that people didn't notice it was zero waste," says Vegh. "Lots of meat lovers came to the restaurant saying if all vegan food could be like that they'd have no problem to go vegan."

This story is part of the CGTN Europe Trash or Treasure special - a look at the challenges, innovations and solutions around Europe's waste disposal.