Using Them Up: How the World Makes Leftovers Taste Like New, with Jacquie Ottman, The Leftovers Lady
Welcome to the official page for Jacquie Ottman’s “Using Them Up” Project. My aim: Empower home cooks to use up leftovers, deliciously. My inspiration: research into the ingenious ways that home cooks around the world, for eons, have reinvented their own leftovers into something new and tasty their own families would enjoy. My motivation: help to reduce food waste and reduce climate change emissions, while also help people to save money and time, while discovering new cuisines, and learning new skills for using food more efficiently — and having fun.
Want to learn more? Sign up for a talk or schedule a talk for your group. View archived talks to other groups. Download free resources. Get in contact with Jacquie, The Leftovers Lady, to talk about collaborations. Just keep on scrolling….
TALKS
Invite Jacquie to Give a Talk to Your Group
Jacquie Ottman loves to give lively, informative, and engaging talks — in person and via zoom. Live talks are held in community settings (libraries, community centers, schools), at corporate events (i.e., Earth Day and before holidays), and at organizations/businesses (charity organizations, cooking schools, culinary trainings for youth, community kitchens, etc.). Give Jacquie a call today to talk more. Link here to send an email.
Register for Upcoming Zoom Talks
Please check back for details on upcoming 2025 talks
Watch an Archived Zoom Webinar, Using them Up: How to World Makes Leftovers Taste Like New
Zoom Webinar presented to IACP, International Assn of Culinary Professionals, January 2025: https://vimeo.com/1051268233/6a2fe507aa
Zoom Webinar presented to Harrison Public Library and Waste Free Greenwich, November 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebT4Mlvdkjs
Zoom Webinar presented to Rewild Long Island, November 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZgw2mUQXqI&t=39s
Zoom Webinar presented to Green America, October 2024: https://youtu.be/8-PkVAwow2c
Zoom Webinar presented to Shelter Island Public Library, May 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Nl4D6sI80&t=502s
Zoom Webinar presented to Good Neighbors of Park Slope, November 2023: https://goodneighborsofparkslope.org/content.aspx?page_id=4002&club_id=461925&item_id=2098188
Zoom Webinar presented to Center for Continuing Education, May 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=org3YH0G7Gk
Time zone issues (I live in Tokyo) kept me from participating in real time. A thought-provoking topic and this program was a great way to start exploring actions we can take in our own kitchens. — Elizabeth A.
FREE PDFs (Just ask)
Request a free PDF of the recipes referenced in Jacquie’s talk: JAOTTMAN28 [@] gmail.com
Contact Jacquie Ottman at the email address below to request a copy of the FREE PDF of recipes referenced in the Videos.
Request a free PDF of “Eat Well. Waste Nothing” JAOttman28 [@] gmail.com
“..so optimistic and life-affirming through the lens of food sustenance and importance in so many other ways that I feel my spirits lifted up and my interest in cooking reviving.” – Shirley L.
ABOUT JACQUIE OTTMAN, “THE LEFTOVERS LADY”
Jacquelyn Ottman, On a Mission to Use Up Leftovers
Jacquelyn Ottman gives online and in-person talks, and bespoke consulting aimed at inspiring home cooks to use up leftovers.
She is a fifth generation New Yorker and an advocate for zero waste. And she hates to see food go to waste! A home cook for 50 years, she is the author of three self-published books on her personal culinary history: “Family Gatherings: Five Recipes from Five Generations“ (2000), “Ottman & Company: Meatpacking District Pioneers“ (2022), the story of her family’s 150-year old NYC meat purveying firm); and “Connecting from a Quarantine Kitchen: My Shelter Island Pandemic Story“ (2020).
A pioneer in the field of green marketing, she is the author of several books on the subject, including a pioneering adviser to the U.S. EPA’s Energy Star label, the USDA’s USDA Certified Biobased Label, and to several Fortune 500 companies. She is past chair, Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board, and founder of WeHateToWaste.com.
The content available on this page is a sneak peek at the book she is currently researching about new inspiration for using up the leftovers.
Learn more about Jacquie Ottman HERE: JO Food Bio 2024
Watch Jacquie Ottman take the #FoodScrapsChallenge
WATCH Jacquie Ottman take the #FoodScrapsChallenge. Take it yourself and you may be amazed at just how much food waste you generate each week: https://www.facebook.com/WeHateToWaste/videos/1140332189317582
Contact Jacquie Ottman
I’d love to hear from you. Please share your favorite recipe for leftovers, send feedback on my work, or arrange a presentation for your group. Please feel free to email me at JAOttman28 [@] gmail [dot] com. Or call 212 879 4160 in New York City.
Work with Jacquie
We are currently seeking freelance writers, interns and part time admin support in our NYC office. Learn more here: https://www.wehatetowaste.com/employment
Learn More About Jacquie’s Personal Culinary History Books
Read Posts by Jacquie About How She Reduces Food Waste
Leftovers Pooling: The Most Fun Way Yet to Cut Down on Food Waste
LEARN MORE ABOUT USING UP LEFTOVERS
LINK HERE to: Read More Inspiring Stories about How to Reduce Food Waste
WITH APPRECIATION
Special Thanks To all the interns and other helpers who made this work possible, especially: Julia Sikorski, Madeleine Phillips, Elinor Simek, Cecelia Kane, Emily Paytas, Lauren Wakeman, Gabi Lung, Carissa Edwards-Mendez, Anna Donovan, Anya Steinmetz, Ava Horn, Rebecca Downer, Lucy Zhao, Nashipei Mosiany, Abi,
Special Acknowledgement: Sara Dickerman, In Praise of Leftovers, Slate, March 20 2016: https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/03/leftovers-arent-glamorous-but-theyre-the-most-joyous-part-of-my-cooking-life.html