I tried Hilton's £40 'taste of zero waste' menu - and sampled delicacies such ... trends now

In the battle against climate change, it's fair to say corporate giants have a greater responsibility when it comes to making big changes. 

That's why multinational hospitality company Hilton has launched 'taste of zero waste' menus at four of its flagship UK hotels until the end of May. 

MailOnline went along to try the menu at Hilton London Metropole, which features delicacies such as cod tongues, ox heart and salmon cheeks.  

The £40 menu showcases 'innovative techniques' to combat food waste and underused cuts of meat that would usually be thrown away. 

Avoiding food waste is crucial in the fight against climate change because when food waste rots, it releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. 

I thought Hilton may have taken note of Silo, the trendy eatery that describes itself as the world's first zero waste restaurant.

But Paul Bates, executive head chef at Hilton London Metropole, told me that Hilton's 'taste of waste' menu was not inspired by the east London establishment at all. 

Instead, trying to create as little waste as possible in a professional kitchen is something chefs in the industry were doing over 20 years ago. 

Now, as the link between food waste and climate change becomes more apparent, Hilton wants other kitchens to take note. 

'If I saw young chefs throw food in the bin I'd say, 'what do you think you're doing?'' Chef Bates told MailOnline. 

'We were taught to use things – use the bones to make stock.' 

With the new menu, the chef is using unusual cuts of meat that are often overlooked and therefore tend to be cheaper, while using offcuts leftover during food prep. 

To start there's three crispy cod tongues, deep fried in breadcrumbs and served with gribiche sauce, made from hardboiled eggs from the morning's breakfast bar.

I was expecting something soft and slippery, but the texture of the tongues is firmer than this, almost like squid. 

The flavour, however, is very familiar – exactly like any other cut of cod I've tasted. What a revelation! 

I'd definitely eat a box of six cod tongues if they were served up at my local chippy, but unfortunately the little morsels tend to get discarded when the fish are filleted. 

That seems crazy to me, especially considering cod are one of the most overfarmed fish in British waters and populations are 'critically low', according to a report last year. 

The salmon cheeks – served with outer lettuce leaves and sauce made of salmon heads – are less surprising because they have the same texture as any other part of the salmon. 

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