UWL hosts Future Plates and Future Chefs sustainable food event
Intro
The University of West London hosted 80 students and delegates for Future Plates and Future Chefs, an event exploring a range of sustainable food approaches. The event was a collaboration with The Chefs’ Manifesto SDG2 Advocacy Hub, a project bringing chefs together to explore how to help deliver a sustainable food system.
Main body
The event was held on Monday 6 March at the start of Food Waste Action Week at UWL’s London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism (LGCHT) in their training restaurant Pillars. It began with a short introduction from Bob Gordon of the Zero Carbon Forum with catering company Westbury Street Holdings’ Mike Hanson.
Bob Gordon said:
The food industry is responsible for about 35% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions so we need to radically reduce these. We’re also one of the most at-risk sectors from the impact of climate change. The food chain is very exposed to risk. It’s about reducing our impact and building our resilience.”
Next, Director of Chefs’ Manifesto Paul Newnham gave an overview of the eight thematic areas before delegates broke into small groups for 10-minute chef demos and tasters exploring the first six of these.
Next, Paul Newnham hosted a panel discussion on sustainable food education looking at thematic areas 7 and 8 of the Chefs’ Manifesto with the founder of Conscious Impact Alyson Greenhalgh-Ball, Principal Strategist at Forum for the Future Geraldine Gilbert, and chef Chris Locke.
Geraldine said:
What are you teaching if you’re not teaching sustainable food because it's one of the biggest challenges today. There is no future of food without sustainability.”
The event finished with networking opportunities and some delicious, sustainable food provided by Jon Lilley and Team Lexington showcasing their ‘Trashed’ and ‘Simplicity’ food concepts.
Third-year BSc (Hons) Nutrition and Food Management student Giuseppina said:
This event has been so helpful for us in terms of networking. It’s been great for us to get in touch with people who can give us opportunities and ideas for the future."
Viktoria, her friend on the same course, said:
I've loved this event. It’s closely related to what we’re studying and what we’re interested in. I’ve been taking notes for my dissertation.”
Peter Cross, Senior Lecturer at LGCHT said:
Future Plates and Future Chefs was a great success. The amazing chefs and speakers brought the eight thematic areas to life, inspiring the students and delegates alike. It was great to see so many innovative approaches to food on display, showcasing a variety of healthy, sustainable food concepts.”
- Read more about studying Future Food, Nutrition and Culinary Arts at UWL’s LGCHT.
- Find out more about the Chefs’ Manifesto SCG2 Advocacy Hub.
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