Most foodies are familiar with the Michelin Star rating — the prestigious and internationally recognized accolade awarded to outstanding restaurants by the Michelin Guide. However, most may not be familiar with a Michelin Green Star. Introduced in 2020, the coveted annual award designation recognizes restaurants at the forefront of the industry for sustainable, eco-friendly, and ethical practices.
As the owner of the Michelin Green Star rated Filipino restaurant, Kaya, in Orlando, FL, Chef Lordfer Lalicon’s goal is to achieve low waste and sustainable practices in his operation.
Opened in 2022, Kaya is a neighborhood restaurant and bar, taking up residence in a charming, renovated home located in Orlando’s Mills 50 district. The name “Kaya” means capable — a fitting term since the restaurant was also a 2024 James Beard Award finalist for Best New Restaurant and named Restaurant of the Year in 2024 by The Orlando Sentinel. The culinary team prides itself in offering warm hospitality and creativity to expand the love of Filipino food and culture.
From Throw Aways to Keepers: FreshPro Minis are Eco-Friendly
With a Michelin Green star designation, top of mind for Chef Lalicon was his disposable plastic ½-quart and one-quart deli containers, which hold all his sauces and ingredients.
Restaurants typically throw away these containers when they show signs of wear like cracking, warping, staining, or lingering odors. In addition, cracks, splits, chips, or deep scratches can harbor bacteria. Unfortunately, some plastic containers may only last one to five uses before they are thrown away.
Chef Lalicon had an idea brewing that he wanted to execute. Knowing the durability of Cambro’s large quart containers that he has used during his career, he wondered if it was feasible to replace his cheap throw-away plastic deli containers with Cambro’s permanent FreshPro Minis.
“I wanted to waste less and see what the cost benefit would be over time by using Cambro’s ½-quart and one-quart minis instead of disposable plastic containers,” he said.
Durable and reusable, the FreshPro Mini has one easy seal cover that fits both container sizes to help increase efficiency in the kitchen. They are stain, acid, and odor resistant, as well as dishwasher safe and NSF listed.
A Program Worth Repeating
Currently, Lolicon uses 100 ½-quart and 100 one-quart FreshPro Minis in his operation. He still uses around 100 disposable deli containers until he is ready to round out his inventory to all FreshPro Minis.
“We have about 20 menu offerings and some of those dishes require three to five different items to be prepared, each one requiring different ingredients. We can easily use around 250 to 300 fully prepped and stocked for a busy service over the course of a week,” Lolicon said.
Since introducing the FreshPro Minis in his restaurant in July 2025, Lordfer has estimated that over the course of a year, he will save about $1,500. He’s halfway there in replacing all his deli containers.
And beyond saving money, a program like this has far-reaching implications like helping to lessen the carbon footprint on our planet. “I think restaurants that care about their community and are concerned about waste would get on board and lessen their use of disposable plastics,” he said. “I haven’t had to order more disposable containers, and that just feels good.”
Author: Cynthia Connally is the Digital Communications Manager at Cambro.
