Doug McMaster
Rethink sustainability and circular innovation with Doug McMaster, founder of the world's first zero-waste restaurant. Doug shares insights on circular economy strategy, regenerative dining, and sustainable innovation. Michelin Green Star recipient and TIME 100 Climate honouree recognised in the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
London, United Kingdom
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Doug McMaster is the chef and founder behind Silo, the world's first zero-waste restaurant, and a leading voice on sustainability, innovation, and business model transformation.
Doug opened Silo in London in 2014 after training at St. John, The Fat Duck, and Noma. He holds a Michelin Green Star and has been recognised by The World's 50 Best Restaurants as a hospitality pioneer. His book, The Zero Waste Blueprint, was shortlisted for the Guild of Food Writers Award in 2020. In 2024, he launched Flux Fermentation Factory, applying circular food innovation beyond Silo's walls.
Silo is the proof of concept behind Doug's thinking - a functioning business that eliminated waste not by offsetting it, but by redesigning the system that produces it. That experience translates directly to how organisations across sectors can think about resource use, supply chain design, and the gap between sustainability ambition and systems-level change.
Doug shares practical lessons on designing waste out of our systems, building ethical supplier relationships, and creating commercially viable sustainability strategies that genuinely change behaviour.
Book Doug to gain a clearer understanding of regenerative business practices, sustainable innovation, and how constraints can drive creativity.
Ten years of hands-on systems innovation at Silo gives Doug operational credibility in conversations on waste, circular thinking, and sustainable business design, offering audiences practical insight into how regenerative ideas can be applied at scale across industries.
Topics, Sessions And Talks
Douglas McMaster provocatively asserts that waste stems from a failure of imagination rather than inevitability. He shares insights from his experience creating Silo, which operates outside traditional industrial supply chains. Doug encourages attendees to rethink food systems and resource management, viewing conventional structures as flexible design choices rather than fixed constraints. This session blends practical strategies with philosophical insights, drawing on a decade of experience. Attendees will learn innovative approaches to transforming food production and consumption.
In his keynote, Douglas McMaster envisions future food systems grounded in ecology, design, and ethics. He combines philosophical insights with practical approaches, advocating for a shift from industrial reliance to regenerative independence. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of sustainable practices and innovative strategies that can transform our food systems for a more hopeful and resilient future.
In this session, Douglas McMaster explores the hidden costs of food waste and its vital connection to the climate crisis. Emphasising circular design, regenerative thinking, and culinary innovation, Doug will share practical solutions to integrate sustainability into everyday kitchen practices and supply chains. Attendees will learn how to transform their approach to food waste, making sustainability an achievable and essential part of their operations.
Douglas McMaster, a leader in zero-waste dining, presents innovative strategies for creating a completely waste-free food system. Drawing on his experience at Silo, the first zero-waste restaurant, he offers practical insights for chefs, producers, and policymakers to transform food systems from soil to plate. Attendees will learn actionable methods to rethink their approach to food and contribute to a sustainable future.
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