Remember growing up and hearing your parents say things like, “You may not leave the table until you’ve cleared your plate” or “There are starving kids in [name of country], so finish your food”?

A Reuters news article features an Australian restaurant called Wafu that aims for a sustainable future. In doing so, Chef Yukako Ichikawa requires all diners to finish their entire meal … or don’t come back.

Restaurants have a hard enough time as it is to stay in business. While it’s honorable that Wafu is “dedicated to the notion of waste prevention,” I would not recommend turning my back on customers (since repeat business and referrals always make up the bulk of any business).

Personally, I dislike going out to eat with people who pick at their food and then don’t bother to take home the (substantial amount of) leftovers (assuming the meal was prepared adequately). We do live in a wasteful society, but for a lack of a better phrase, it’s indeed the nature of the beast in the restaurant industry. 

In any event, I’m curious to see how well this business mantra does.