Can a Restaurant be Zero-Waste? This Plant-Based Oceanside Eatery Says So

It all started with an idea; make great food, make it responsibly and introduce people to a new way of eating.

That’s where Jessica and Davin Waite come in. The pair are co-founders of The Plot, a restaurant that is not only zero-waste, but plant-based too.

The restaurant opened in 2020 and sits on South Coast Highway in Oceanside. It has a wood exterior with an organic feel. The inside matches, with live plants hanging from the ceiling, a mural that says “the future is unwritten,” and a large counter for ordering, payment and pickups.

Unlike a typical eatery, you will not find items like plastic utensils, single-use napkins or to-go cups on-site. All of these things are part of their goal to throw nothing away, but it is really just the tip of the iceberg.

“Being zero-waste is ordering with the intention of not bringing anything into the restaurant that is destined for the landfill,” said Jessica Waite, who is also the CEO of The Plot.

This is one of the reasons why they made The Plot revolve around a plant-based menu. Jessica Waite said when they’re working with plants, it is much easier to use all parts of each item.

But, how does that work? Davin Waite is the mastermind who comes up with many of the ways they create plant-based dishes, without producing waste. He said the team is constantly thinking of new ways to be creative with items they would typically toss out, like leaves, skins and stems.

For example, scraps of vegetables like onion skins and basil stems are saved after being picked apart for their usual uses. Then, those bits are boiled and used to make stock. After the stock is complete, the same scraps are saved and dried out on a baking sheet. From here, they are finely crushed and mixed with salt to be used as seasoning. 

“Everything is questioned, every little piece, every little thing, and it’s about capturing resources and making sure that every little piece of every plant that comes in here gets the love it deserves,” said Davin Waite, who is listed as the executive chef on The Plot’s website, but when asked for his title in-person, he claimed the role of “senior zookeeper.”

This is a theme in The Plot’s kitchen, making new products out of items that are usually discarded, like ketchup made from beets that they now bottle and sell.

Mushrooms are another example. Davin said The Plot uses up to four different varieties of mushrooms. They can be grilled, baked, smoked, dried and even turned into a powder that can mimic everything from a cheese-like flavor to fish sauce.

“These are the cheats, These are the aces up the sleeves and all of the secrets,” Davin Waite said.

But it has not all been easy. 

“There are a lot of challenges when it comes to [the] stigma around vegan food and plant-based food,” Jessica Waite said. “There’s also, I think, people don’t know what to expect when it comes to zero-waste, but once they sit down and eat the food, they love it.” 

Some of their menu items include a spin on familiar favorites like chicken and waffles, meatloaf and fish tacos. They try to emulate comfort food to make people more willing to give the plant-based twist a try. 

See more

When it comes to where they get their ingredients from, The Plot has a garden on-site where they can grow some of the plants they use, like lettuce and parsley. For the things they can’t grow, they rely on local farms which is beneficial in a few ways. Jessica Waite said it allows them to support local, small business, maintains the nutrients within the plants by reducing the amount of time between them being harvested to arriving at the restaurant and, to top it all off, it also reduces the emissions that would come from a long-distance transport. 

“It’s a win-win-win-win,” Jessica Waite laughed.

Aside from each meal being made with the intention of being plant-based, zero-waste and responsibly-sourced, it also needs to look and taste good for customers. 

“There shouldn’t be any compromise in our food system. It should be delicious, it should be healthy, it should be good for the planet and it should be as ethical as possible and it doesn’t have to be any kind of a compromise for the people eating it at the end of the day," said Jessica.