Tag: chef

Food Sustainability Media Award launched at Radici by Francesco Mazzei

London – by Chiara Fiorillo

Food Sustainability Media Award is an initiative, organised by Thomson Reuters Foundation and Barilla Center For Food & Nutrition, to raise awareness of the importance of food, going beyond its taste. It recognises that food is good when it benefits people and the planet.

Today, food sustainability is a global concern and the media has a key role to play in it by informing people about what is going on, in order to create a more sustainable future.

Entries for the award are open to journalists and emerging writers from all over the world. Its aim is to raise awareness of the issue of sustainability through all kinds of media, from written articles, to videos, to photography.

Food Sustainability Media Award was launched on 9 May 2017 at Francesco Mazzei’s recently-opened restaurant Radici in Islington, London.

Antonio Zappulla, Chief Operating Officer at Thomson Reuters Foundation, opened the event, by explaining what the award is about. Then, Luca Di Leo, Head of Media Relations at Barilla and BCFN Foundation, talked about the importance of food sustainability: “When you throw away an apple, you are throwing away 70l of water. Think about that.”

Credits: SpiceDeli/Twitter

This means that a huge quantity of food is wasted while people in other parts of the world die because of hunger.

Then, Francesco Mazzei talked about what food sustainability means to him. The famous Italian chef, indeed, tries to avoid food waste not only when he is at work, but also in his private life. At the opening of the event, he told the guests how he usually turns the meat he cooks for lunch on Sunday into kebabs for his daughter and son to eat in front of the TV in the afternoon. By doing so, he makes sure that nothing goes into the bin.

About 1.3 billion tons of edible food is wasted every day, that is four times the amount needed to feed the 795 million undernourished peole around the world.

During the night, Francesco Mazzei prepared a surprise four-course meal: from pasta, to fish, to meat, to meringue, he showed how chefs can create “beautiful food without waste”. And for this reason, he said: “The risotto I served last night is your arancini starter today. Cooking with leftovers has been a great exercise.”

The power of the media to increase food sustainability is huge. And this is what the award is about. Anyone can take part in it. Both published and unpublished work can be submitted. Information can be found on the website of the Award.

Italian chef Massimo Bottura to launch his third Refettorio in London

London – by Chiara Fiorillo

Massimo Bottura, top Italian chef and founder of three-Michielin-star restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, will cook in London for the first time during London Food Month.

In June, “the poet chef” will launch his third Refettorio, run by his non-profit organisation Food for Soul. The project follows the success of similar initiatives during Expo 2015 in Milan and during last year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The location of the Refettorio has not been revealed yet, but its name has: it will be called the Refettorio Felix after Felix Byam Shaw, who inspired a campaign, run by the Evening Standard, to tackle food waste and hunger. The Felix Project will supply ingredients which otherwise would have been thrown away.

The Refettorio Felix will be open for lunch from Monday to Friday, aiming to serve 2,000 meals during London Food Month. Bottura will team up with a different British chef every day to produce healthy food for vulnerable people.

The Italian chef will also teach new recipes and how to create healthy meals with surplus food. He said: “Chefs have risen to celebrity heights. I believe we can use these heights to illuminate the most pressing issues facing society today.”

Credits: Scatti di Gusto

His non-profit organisation, Food for Soul, promotes wellbeing for people who are marginalised or excluded from society. “Chefs are invited to cook nutritious and healthy meals and demonstrate how ingredients from food waste can be nourishing. Volunteers are invited to serve guests at their table; this helps to promote social inclusion through human contact,” Bottura said. “The gesture of sitting down to a meal and breaking bread together is the first step towards rebuilding dignity and creating a community. A warm, seasonal, and delicious meal shared at a table with others is much more than the sum of the ingredients. It is a gesture of love,” he added.