LIFE Climate Smart Chefs: the 8 editions of the High Level Course come to the end, now it’s time for the Award
The series of advanced training courses delivered by the project and aimed at chefs across Europe is about to end and the Climate Smart Chefs Award, the competition recognizing the efforts of chefs and nonprofits to promote environmentally conscious food practices, is moving forward to the final.
LIFE Climate Smart Chefs, the three-year European project that aims to train chefs from all over Europe, has celebrated with an exclusive event the conclusion of the 8 editions of the High Level Course dedicated to chefs and catering professionals, which involved more than 160 chefs from all 27 different European countries. The event also relaunched the opening of nominations for the Award that will reward virtuous chefs and nonprofit associations.
In the scenic setting of the Davines Group Village, ALMA, partner in the project and owner of the in-person lessons of the course, designed for the students of the 8th and final edition a special version of the didactic aperitif scheduled during the two-day course in Colorno, bringing together all the players in this European project: the Barilla Foundation, ENAIP NET, the Finnish University JAMK and the Irish company NUTRITICS, together with students, teachers and institutional figures to share the results achieved so far.
First and foremost, those of the High Level Course: ‘”In these 8 editions Climate Smart Chefs has trained more than 160 chefs, from all over Europe, receiving more than 500 applications and delivering a total of more than 250 hours of training,” summarizes Andrea Sinigaglia, General Manager of ALMA– It was characterized by the involvement of major figures in the sector, from academics, to chefs, to producers of excellent raw materials . We deployed technology with Nutritics, which created the “FoodPrint” software used today by more than 1,300 chefs to calculate the impact of a menu and make it as sustainable as possible. We created an e-learning platform for students thanks to the expertise of partners such as Enaip. Finally, we were able to gather concrete feedback on the quality of the course thanks to the survey conducted by Jamk, which highlighted how much and in what areas has improved the participants‘ ability to be Climate Smart Chefs“.
Consisting of 36 hours between online and in-person classes at ALMA, the course actively involved the project partners who brought visting professors and industry experts, guiding participants through new frontier of catering. 6 Modules to learn the main issues to to create a food system that becomes more attentive and aware of the current challenges that the catering professional is called upon to face, deploying solutions that are also technological in nature. Such as the “FoodPrint” software, the digital tool for sustainable menu design that analyzes the environmental, social and economic impact of a restaurant’s food proposal.
Aligned with this vision in its corporate mission and policy, Davines Group, who hosted the event, has always been a company concretely committed to corporate sustainability. Present in more than 90 countries, it was founded in the 1980s as a R&D laboratory for high-quality trichological products and later developed in the mid-1990s also in skincare for beauty salons and spas. Today it is a B Corporation, “a company that uses business to generate a positive impact on people and the environment,” for which “Beauty and Sustainability are the inspirational concepts for every project, from formulation to design to corporate and customer ethics.”
Anthony Molet, CEO Davines Group: “We are happy to have hosted the closing event of this High-Level Course and to be part of this cutting-edge European project. As a company we operate in the beauty industry, but we also have at heart the promotion of regenerative development, with a focus especially on agriculture, that is able to positively impact other industries, such as food. We deeply believe in the idea of holistic wellness for people, leading them to take care of themselves, the environment in which they live and what they hold dear.“
Marta Antonelli, research director of Fondazione Barilla and coordinator of the LIFE Climate Smart Chefs project, explained the purpose and the structure of the Award: “This is the second major goal of the project, to give value to local chefs and initiatives that truly operate according to the dictates of sustainability. Not only by giving them visibility but also by recognizing for them an award that can, like a flywheel, increase their best practices through further training, for the chefs, or through financial support for the associations, but always and in any case with the intention of spreading and replicating this model of catering that contributes to climate change mitigation.”
The prize is open to participants over 18 years of age residing in a European state, who can apply until June 10, 2024, choosing from two different subcategories: “Sustainable Restaurant of the Year,” aimed at more experienced chefs who are already in charge of a professional kitchen, and “Sustainable Recipe of the Year,” which younger chefs in training or employed in a kitchen can enter. Up for grabs for the winner in each category will be a specialized course at ALMA, the chance to become ambassadors of the project throughout Europe, and a one-year free license of the “FoodPrint” software.
The prize for “local initiatives,” on the other hand, is for those local associations and nonprofit organizations that, by actively involving one or more chefs, realized projects and initiatives that deal with issues related to food, climate, water, nutrition, food waste, etc. Up for grabs is a cash prize worth 10,000 euros for first place, 5,000 for second and 2,500 for third.
The winners for both categories of the Award will be decided by an international jury of experts in the food sector, led by Cheffe Chiara Pavan while the prizes will be awarded during the final Conference of the project to be held in September 2024.
From the LIFE Climate Smart Chefs project will then result ‘Vision 2030,’ a strategy document aimed at providing recommendations and supporting EU climate change mitigation goals, inspiring greater involvement of chefs to tangibly transform food systems in Europe.
Following the meeting, a Climate Smart Aperitivo, designed by Vicook, graced guests with an original gastronomic proposal perfectly in tune with the guidelines transferred to chefs during the course, to demonstrate how cooking, if designed and balanced correctly, can be good, healthy and sustainable.
