L.A. Kitchen

Chef advocates participate in a culinary class taught by Chef Kajsa Alger, owner of Mud Hen Tavern, right in green hat, at L.A. Kitchen.

Egger, center, watches over chef advocates during a culinary class. L.A. Kitchen uses fruits and vegetables that otherwise would have been tossed at restaurants, farmers markets and from wholesalers.

Chef advocate Michael Johnson, center, pours freshly made cheese under the watchful eye of Chef Kajsa Alger, owner of Mud Hen Tavern, left, and fellow classmates.

Alger, left, and chef advocate Esther Rhodes, right, make fresh cheese as chef advocates look on.

Alger, center, stirs the freshly made cheese.

Chef advocate Raquel Sendejas, left, smiles while learning how to flip a pan filled with onions.

Chef advocate Raquel Sendejas, center, practices chopping onions for a dish they’ll make from discarded produce.

Chef advocate Jeannette Gomez smells a handful of blended walnuts.

L.A. Kitchen president Robert Egger says of his center that reclaims food waste and turns it into meals for low-income senior citizens: “Wrinkled food … wrinkled people … no waste. I want to expose what we throw away, what we waste, what we undervalue, and I want to show that it has profound importance.”