As part of his award of Eat Out S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna Chef of the Year 2017, Chef Liam Tomlin represented South Africa on a trip to CARE’s, the ethical Chef event that took place in Alta Badia, Northern Italy in January 2018.
“Having experienced one of my young chefs getting into the finals of the S. Pellegrino Young Chef awards (2015) and seeing what an amazing experience he had and life long friendships that he has made, I think S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna do a great job within the food and chef industry. It also exposes us all to the amazing young talent that there is around the world and shows that our industry is going to be in good hands for generations to come”, commented Liam.
“I was so happy and proud to be picked as the Eat Out S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna Chef of the Year, especially from the talent that we have here in South Africa. I have our whole team to thank for this award, this award only comes about with the hard work and consistency of everybody who works with us in our four restaurants, Chefs Warehouse & Canteen; Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia and recently opened Maison and Thali. Our main focus at all venues is to continue to deliver a consistently good product and good value in all of our establishments.”
CARE’S is a globally attended event that has become synonymous with ethics and sustainability, and this, the 3rd annual event, was attended by other such luminaries of the food world as Oscar Farinetti, founder and creator of Eataly and FICO, to Stefania Lallai of Costa Cruises and Lara Gilmore of Food for Soul. These guests starred alongside the chef from Maido, winner of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, and James P. McMahon and Matt Orlando, all of whom are committed to cutting food waste through their own restaurants and projects.
Following the success of the previous two editions in Alta Badia and Salina, CARE’s expanded its 2018 presence with attendance by 35 international chefs from 14 countries and 4 continents, gastronomy professionals, journalists and entrepreneurs, all sensitive to ethical issues, and which are being increasingly subscribed to by the industry’s big players. An exchange of opinions about sustainability, territory development, environmental protection and, above all, ethics provided an interesting opportunity for training and education for these guests over the three days of events.
Through a continuously growing wave of ethical awareness, Norbert Niederkofler, creator of the event, together with Paolo Ferretti, also a leading voice of the “no-waste” concept, re-confirms his beliefs: that of the ancient customs which taught to recycle ingredients and leftovers, such as fermentation, and which have become guidelines in these kitchens.
A staggering 1/3 of all food remains unused because of the excessive overuse by humans around the world. This, when one considers global poverty and related nutrition issues, is unforgivable. Thus there is one important task that these chefs want to impart to consumers around the world; to educate the young (beginning with the chefs and those in food-related industries) to always be more sensitive and ethically contemporary in personal choices. All good habits begin at home, and this is a perfect example of that.
A focus of the programme, the CARE’s Talks, took place each day during the festival, and one of the many highlights from this were the talks that were moderated by Lisa Casali, an environmental scientist, blogger, writer, and one of the leaders in Italy when it comes to fighting against waste. Also speaking that day was Oscar Farinetti, founder and creator of Eataly and FICO, Maria Chiara Gadda with the namesake law nr. 166 against food waste, which has just entered into force; Lara Gilmore of Food for Soul with the outstanding project “Refettorio Ambrosiano” now ready to go around the world; Stefania Lallai from Costa Crociere and Marco Lucchini, secretary general of the “Fondazione Banco Alimentare”. These speakers, thanks to a prior collaboration, have already been able to transform the massive excess of food from cruise ships into charitable donations, disembarking it for the consumption in the next port, an initiative that is already having an impact around the world on many PDI communities.
Another speaker that day, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, is a South-African chef working in France who has already internalized practices in his own kitchen such as the use of seasonal and local ingredients (like the South African herb, buchu) united with practices that aim at saving water resources. Something that is of particular interest to the South African food market in light of serious droughts currently being experienced.
These just two of the many highlighted examples of work already being done that is making a difference, and can provide inspiration and example to others.
All of the chefs in attendance who, with their own restaurants and projects, are engaged in reducing and subsequently valorising food waste, animated the event with their positive messages and contributions, and have been putting into action their philosophy with the dishes that they prepared during the various lunches, dinners and masterclasses.
When questioned about his venues in South Africa’s sustainability practices, Liam said: “The way that our menus are set up, we have absolutely no food wastage in any of our kitchens. For me the biggest problem worldwide is food wastage not only in the restaurant industry but especially in the retail sector. We are also very fortunate at two of our restaurants that we have large vegetable gardens, so we are producing as much as possible our own fruit, vegetables and herbs. Our menus are all seasonal, using local growers and suppliers as much as possible. Our biggest concern at the moment is our water shortage in The Western Cape. Obviously in all our restaurants we have implemented water saving initiatives.”
During the CARE’s Awards Dinner which took place on January 16th 2018, at 2478 meters above sea level, in the mountain shelter Luigi Gorza – Portavescovo at Arabba, the well-known CARE’s Awards were handed out. These establish the commitment of CARE’s towards young generations and those who daily distinguish themselves for their social and ethical engagement in professional life.
This year Lorenzo Vecchia from Pozzuolo Martesana, who personally grows his 6 gardens, was awarded the Young Ethical Chef Award sponsored by Monograno Felicetti. The Young Ethical Hospitality Award (sponsored by Ferrari Trento) was given to Lorenzo Chiarugi (born in 1992) for his capabilities in the service demonstrated at his position as maître at the Osteria Gucci in Florence.
Giacomo Perletti and Matteo Trapletti were awarded the Social Responsibility Award. Their young agricultural company Contrada Bricconi was founded based on the recovery of the structures of a rural centre from 1500 in Valzurio (province of Bergamo); according to them “sustainability is made by humans and the beauty of places by farmers, because of this it has to be a lifestyle and the local people and local young chefs of the various places have to be enhanced.”
Even the trophies, made by Vetroricerca, a smelter in Bolzano, are totally in line with the ethical style of CARE’s – they are made out of waste material coming from bottles of beer, wine and sparkling wines, which have been melted and cut in order to generate sculptures. “From glass there originates glass” is a slogan close to the values of CARE’s, such as recycling and environmental sustainability, which have marked this successful 2018 edition. Norbert Niederkofler himself stressed out several times that in order to create an ethical and sustainable cuisine, it is necessary to begin by respecting some crucial guidelines and the philosophy of producers, because at the centre of each choice there is the person with their actions.
