Life Climate Smart Chefs at the Jre International Conference in Paris
In the context of the Jeunes Restaurateurs d’Europe biennial conference, ALMA presents the first results of the European project Life Climate Smart Chefs, which focuses chefs on the fight against food waste and the commitment to sustainable food practices
The European Life Climate Smart Chefs project, which aims to actively involve chefs as promoters of low-emission diets that reduce environmental impact and combat food waste, steps onto one of the most prestigious stages of international catering and tells an audience of more than 500 chefs from 16 different countries about the road travelled in two of its three years of project work.
The context is the biennial convention of JRE Jeunes Restaurateurs d’Europe – the association that brings together talented European restaurateurs and chefs under 42 – held a few days ago in Paris, which celebrated the association’s 50th anniversary this year. In a two days of events and gala dinners, the Chef to Chef Summit, in the evocative setting of the Carreau du Temple, was the moment dedicated to sharing trends and the ‘hot’ topics of international catering among JRE members and other operators in the sector, through talks, round tables and exhibitions.
And it was here that ALMA, The School of Italian Culinary Arts, present at the conference with one of its delegations, drew attention to this three-year project, which started in January 2022 together with Fondazione Barilla, lead partner, ENAIP Veneto, Nutritics (Ireland) and Jamk (Finland). Between educational, seeding and networking activities, more than 160 chefs from 23 countries have been trained, a network of more than 20 international associations has been created and digital tools have been disseminated to more than 1,300 chefs to check the real sustainability of their menus.
During the event, the Climate Smart Chefs Award was also re-launched, the competition that next July will reward chefs and non-profit activities that have made attention to the environment and food waste their mission, in their intentions but also in their daily operations, through virtuous uses, behaviours and practices. Numerous organisations are already taking part in the competition, which closes on 10 June, and will put the international jury, led by Chef Chiara Pavan, called upon to assess the projects and choose the winners to the test. The prizes up for grabs include an advanced training course at ALMA, the sustainable menu control tool and, for the non-profit organisations, cash prizes.
