Chefs driving change with LIFE Climate Smart Chefs. Following a series of high-level training courses aimed at chefs from all over Europe, the Award is also coming, a competition to recognize the commitment of chefs and non-profit associations in promoting environmentally friendly food practices.
The news
Contributing to the development and implementation of the EU Climate Policy and Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy by involving chefs and turning them into advocates for significant sustainability-related change: this is LIFE Climate Smart Chefs, the three-year European project aimed at training chefs from across Europe, providing them with knowledge and tools to bring about transformations in recipe development, menu structuring, and even customer communication, promoting awareness of climate and environmental issues.
And today, after eight editions of the High Level Course dedicated to catering operators, totaling 160 chefs from all 27 different European countries, the project celebrated the conclusion of this journey with an exclusive event in the scenic location of the Davines Group Village, always a concrete reality committed to sustainability in business, together with ALMA, the Italian School of Italian Cuisine, partner and responsible for in-person teaching of course lessons, and the players involved: Fondazione Barilla, ENAIP NET, the Finnish University JAMK, and the Irish company NUTRITICS. An opportunity to highlight numbers and results achieved, but also to relaunch the opening of nominations for the Award that will reward virtuous chefs and non-profit associations. "In these 8 editions, Climate Smart Chefs has trained over 160 chefs from across Europe, receiving more than 500 applications and delivering a total of over 250 hours of training - explains Andrea Sinigaglia, General Director of ALMA. It has been a journey marked by the involvement of key figures in the industry, from academic teachers to chefs, to producers who work the land every day and create excellent raw materials.
We have deployed technology with Nutritics, which has developed the "FoodPrint" software, used today by over 1300 chefs to calculate the impact of a menu and make it as sustainable as possible. We have created an e-learning platform for students thanks also to the expertise of partners like Enaip. Finally, we have been able to gather concrete feedback on the quality of the course thanks to the survey conducted by Jamk, which highlighted how and in which areas the participants' ability to be, concretely, Climate Smart Chefs has improved."
THE COURSE – HIGH LEVEL COURSE
An educational program consisting of 36 hours of teaching, divided into 6 modules, including online and in-person meetings at ALMA, actively involving partners, along with teachers and industry experts, guiding participants in understanding a new frontier of gastronomy. The goal was to lead aspiring climate smart chefs to identify the main themes to create a food system that is more attentive and aware of the challenges that today's restaurant professionals are called upon to face, also through technological solutions.
And this is where the "FoodPrint" software comes into play, a digital tool for designing sustainable menus that analyzes the environmental, social, and economic impact of a restaurant's gastronomic proposal. But there's more because from the LIFE Climate Smart Chefs project will emerge 'Vision 2030,' a strategic document aimed at providing recommendations and supporting EU goals for mitigating climate change, inspiring greater chef involvement to tangibly transform food systems in Europe.
CLIMATE SMART CHEFS AWARD
A prize, but above all, an expression of a choice towards the willingness to contribute to the environment. The Climate Smart Chefs Awards is an initiative directed not only at the restaurant industry but also at local initiatives committed to acting according to sustainability principles. Marta Antonelli, director of research at Fondazione Barilla and coordinator of the LIFE Climate Smart Chefs project, illustrates the aims and functioning of the Award: "This is now the second major objective of the project, to give value to chefs and local initiatives that truly operate according to the principles of sustainability. Not only by giving them visibility but also by recognizing for them a prize that can, like a lever, increase their best practices through further training courses for chefs, or through financial support for associations, but always with the intent of spreading and replicating this restaurant model that contributes to mitigating climate change."
Climate Smart Chefs Awards is open to participants of legal age residing in a European state, who will have the opportunity to apply until June 10, 2024, choosing between two different subcategories: "The Sustainable Restaurant of the Year," aimed at the most experienced chefs, already in charge of a professional kitchen, and "The Sustainable Recipe of the Year," in which younger chefs in training or employed in a kitchen can participate. The winner of each category will receive a specialized course at ALMA, the opportunity to become ambassadors of the project throughout Europe, and a one-year free license for the "FoodPrint" software.
The recognition for "local initiatives" is instead aimed at those local associations and non-profit organizations that, actively involving one or more chefs, implement projects and initiatives related to food, climate, water, nutrition, and waste. At stake, a cash prize worth 10,000 euros for the first prize winner, 5,000 for the second, and 2,500 for the third. To determine the winners for both categories of the Award, an international jury of experts in the food sector will be led by chef Chiara Pavan, while the prizes will be awarded during the project's final Conference in September 2024.
