This study aimed to explore and understand foodservice professionals’ experiences and perceived barriers toward strategies of reducing food waste in large scale institutional kitchens. Explorative semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with eight foodservice professionals from four different foodservice institutions. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. The results revealed nine main themes: forecasting and portion flexibility, routine monitoring, current strategies in use, enhancing internal awareness, collaboration through communication, taking on responsibility, attitude and habits, regulatory constraints and competing priorities. These findings highlight the importance of understanding barriers to overcoming the challenges foodservice professionals face in reducing food waste.