Rocio Camacho: "Nothing Mother Earth provides should be taken for granted"

Guckenheimer, a leading food services provider in North America, set an ambitious goal to cut food waste by 50% by 2024 and exceeded it with a 64% reduction across U.S. operations. At Blue Shield of California in El Dorado Hills, a nonprofit health plan dedicated to providing Californians with access to high-quality health care, Chef Rocio Camacho turned this goal into a reality. As a classically trained chef with culinary roots in Mexico, Rocio has transformed her kitchen into a model of conscious cooking and innovation. "At heart, I care deeply about honoring the abundance Mother Earth shares with us." she says.

Growing Values from the Roots

Rocio's upbringing and early experiences shaped this outlook. Raised by a mom with a love for plants, she grew up nurturing tomatoes and herbs in small garden pots. "You realize how long it takes and how much love it requires to grow something. When you harvest one tomato, you don’t want to waste it." To pass that lesson on, she once gifted her team seed kits for herbs and tomatoes. "I wanted them to experience what it feels like to grow something. That connection changes how you cook."

Real-Time Awareness, Real-Time Action 

To help align operations with her sustainability values, Winnow was introduced to track food waste and provide instant feedback. "What I love from Winnow is that you have those results in a timely manner," Rocio explains. "It tells you exactly what’s going on in your kitchen and where you are wasting the most. You can take action right away."

This real-time insight is especially valuable in a workplace setting where hybrid work models mean guest counts fluctuate. With clearer visibility into waste trends, Rocio and her team can make informed decisions about portioning, purchasing, and production before food is ever lost.

Turning Surplus into Staples 

Rocio's leadership has sparked creative repurposing efforts in the kitchen. For example, tomato cores and onion trimmings from their popular Mexican taqueria station now form the base of a beloved Mexican rice dish. "We don't use tomato paste. We use real tomatoes—the trimmings and the cores—and cook them down. Guests love it."

Even lemon peels are given new life, candied for dessert garnishes or used to decorate cheese boards. The juiced lemons themselves are preserved in cold water, extending their freshness and maximizing every ounce. "We try to put the least amount of food in our bin, every ingredient has value and deserves respect," she explains.

Results 

Since implementing Winnow, Rocio's kitchen has achieved a 72% reduction in food waste, saving approximately $42,000 annually and rescuing over 19,000 meals a year. These results not only reflect operational efficiency but reinforce the team's deeper commitment to sustainability.

Every Day, A New Lesson 

That philosophy carries through in daily operations. Sustainability is embedded in every meeting of the day, where waste reduction and recycling practices are reinforced. "It's not something you train on once. It's daily education. Every day, we remind the team why it matters."

Advice for the Industry 

For fellow chefs, her advice is simple but profound: "Love the food you cook. Honor every single ingredient. Find the beauty and meaning in it." Under her guidance, Blue Shield El Dorado Hills is not just serving delicious meals, they're cultivating a culture of respect, sustainability, and care for every plate and every plant that makes it to the kitchen.