She broke down a chicken and then proceeded to demonstrate how every part of it could be used by making chicken curry and rice, honey chicken skewers, chicken stock and chicken burgers. 

At the same time she chatted about making caramel and browning meat properly and invited her audience to come up and take a closer look. 

Ms Bracks was giving a demonstration on how to minimise food waste and save money at Kelso Community Centre as part of the government-funded Love Food Hate Waste campaign. 

Bathurst Regional Council  environmental project officer Alison Thompson said the more people reduce food waste, the less food ends that up in landfill. 

Each household in NSW throws away $1000 worth of food every year, which equates to about 800,000 tonnes across the state.

Ms Bracks engaged her audience as she worked to reduce the chicken to wings, breasts, legs, thighs and a pile of bones.

She spoke about her experiences of cooking for a family of five and how to make grocery money go further.

“For everybody, reducing the amount of waste we put into the ground, into landfill, makes sense. It’s something we all need to be looking at,” she said.

“Our farmers work hard to produce the food we eat, so I think we should really be respecting that.

“Also if you meal plan and buy only what you need it can save you a lot of money because you’re not throwing wasted food away.

“There are many things we can all do to reduce our food waste.”

Some of these tips include planning meals, writing a shopping list, check what is in the cupboard or refrigerator at home before going shopping, checking use by dates, storing food correctly and using leftovers. 

Ms Bracks, who lives in Orange, has long been an advocate of reducing food waste.