Abstract
Despite growing attention to the problem of food waste in tourism and hospitality, few studies have explored its deeper socio-material roots. Drawing on Marxian theory, this research letter argues that waste results from the alienation caused by successive layers of labour crystallisation, from farming to plating, that obscure food's origins. As meals become fetishised commodities, restaurant guests become detached, while chefs, less alienated, emerge as key actors in waste reduction.