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The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Baldio restaurant in Mexico City champions zero waste and ancient agriculture
At Baldio, the chefs use ingredients sourced with 200km of the restaurant. — Photos: Reuters Nestled in a quiet corner in the trendy Condesa neighbourhood in Mexico City, Mexico sits the vine-strewn restaurant Baldio, or "barren" in English. It has become a draw for its zero-waste kitchen, which means that every scrap of food and leftovers is reused for other purposes. The restaurant, which opened in 2024 and seats 52 people, is routinely packed since it was honoured in June with a Michelin Green Star for its innovative sustainability model. Baldio's owners say it is the first zero-waste restaurant in Mexico City. A crudo dish with leche de tigre (literally tiger's milk, but is actually a marinade made with lime juice, chilli, coriander and onion), and jicama served at Baldio. Baldio offers Mexican food with a gourmet take, such as yellow corn tamal with fermented salsa and pickles, a Mexican sweet corn salad with smoked butter sauce and cured buffalo meat, and grilled sweet onions with grasshoppers and a hibiscus dressing. Pablo Usobiaga, one of Baldio's three co-founders, said the restaurant's name is a rejection of the idea that "control, efficiency and profitability' are the most important aspects of our lives. "It is a way of challenging the status quo of profitability and absolute control,' he said. A serving of 'sashimi de aguachile' at the zero-waste restaurant Baldio in Mexico City. Fish remains are crafted into a fermented fish sauce, fruit peels are fermented into a traditional Mexican fermented beverage, and onion scraps are fermented until they turn into a powder-like seasoning. All of Baldio's ingredients are sourced within 200km of the restaurant in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint. The majority come from an assortment of floating farms that sit atop an interweaving network of canals in southern Mexico City. The floating farms, known as chinampas, were created a thousand years ago when Aztec farmers built fields on lakes so they could grow food year-round. Usobiaga and the restaurant's other co-founders work with local farmers to help preserve centuries-old agricultural practices. Usobiaga's brother, Lucio, started working with farmers in the area 15 years ago to help them preserve centuries-old agricultural practices, such as using special fermentation techniques and organic fertilisers. As part of their weekly routine, Baldio's chefs travel to Xochimilco to meet with local farmers and explore the crops. Flowers are used in negronis, warm infusions and honey-based fermented drinks. The restaurant's menu changes every week, guided by the season and harvest. Lucio said the restaurant requires a creative spirit to constantly adapt to the changing harvest. "What drives us in the end is this excitement about doing things this way," he said. – Reuters
The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
U-Blox says in talks about takeover by Advent
FILE PHOTO: A freeway intersection is seen in Pasadena, near Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 20, 2020. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo (Reuters) -Switzerland's U-Blox Holding, a maker of microchips and software for car navigation, said on Friday it was in talks with Advent International about being taken over by the private equity firm. "Whether a transaction will materialise is open at this stage," the company said in a statement. Advent declined to comment. Bloomberg reported the talks earlier, adding a deal might value U-Blox at more than 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.2 billion). U-Blox shares were up 19% at 1422 GMT at a three-year high, giving it a market value of about 1 billion francs. The technology group, which went public in 2007, said last week its first-half loss before interest and tax had reduced to 7.7 million francs from a loss of 28 million a year earlier. It cited cost cuts and a 32% jump in revenues to 123.4 million francs. Earlier this year, the company sold a unit making cellular modules for wireless communication to focus on fast-growing navigation and positioning technology used in cars, robots and farm equipment. Globally, dealmaking is up year-to-date, driven by a quest for growth in corporate boardrooms, falling interest rates in many countries, and the impact of a surge in AI activity. ($1 = 0.8048 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Emma-Victoria Farr in Frankfurt. Editing by Rachel More and Mark Potter)
The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
Democrats decry move by Pentagon to pause $800 million in nearly done software projects
FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 9, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrats took aim at the Trump administration after Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Navy and Air Force were poised to cancel nearly completed software projects worth over $800 million. The reason for the move was an effort by some officials at the services to steer new projects to companies like Salesforce and Palantir, in what could amount to a costly do-over. 'The Pentagon has yet to show that it had a good reason for halting these contracts in the last inning and scrapping work American tax dollars have already paid for," Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said in a statement. "If it can't show its homework, then this announcement - just days after Palantir's CEO spoke at Mike Johnson's Wyoming donor retreat - reeks of corruption.' Punchbowl reported this month that Palantir CEO Alex Karp planned to address Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson's annual big-donor retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Pentagon and Air Force did not respond to requests for comment. The Navy declined to comment. Trump officials have said the administration is striving to make the contracting process more efficient. The comments show growing concern among Democratic lawmakers over waste at the Pentagon, even as Donald Trump took office vowing to rid the government of waste and abuse. The website of the Department of Government Efficiency, the agency he created to spearhead those efforts, lists over $14 billion in Defense Department contracts it claims to have canceled. But seven months into his presidency, some of his own actions have complicated DOGE's work, from firing the Pentagon's inspector general to issuing an executive order prioritizing speed and risk-taking in defense acquisitions. 'If you're serious about cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse, the last thing you'd do is cancel $800 million in projects that are nearly ready to roll out just to turn around and steer the same work to corporations of your choosing," said Democratic Representative Maggie Goodlander, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee and served as an intelligence officer in the United States Navy Reserve. "This maneuver is an insult to taxpayers and servicemembers across America," she added. Salud Carbajal, another House Democrat who sits on the Armed Services Committee, said the behavior was part of a pattern of waste at the Pentagon under Trump. 'I understand that our military's acquisition and procurement processes aren't flawless, but this administration has repeatedly shown a blatant disregard for the responsible use of taxpayer dollars,' said Carbajal, citing "lavish" military parades and "unnecessary" troop deployments in Los Angeles. Democratic U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda, who also sits on the committee, echoed Carbajal's remarks. "Stripping away critical oversight guardrails is unnecessary and downright reckless," she said, adding that after many delays, the Pentagon was finally poised to implement military pay systems that could pass an audit. "Taxpayers should not fund sweetheart deals for the well connected." (Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
