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www.sanjayskitchen.co.uk

The Role of Chef in the evolving world food equation #BAD 11

Information is a strange bedfellow, use it wisely and you create lives, use it otherwise and you destroy far more lives forever. In this ever changing world, where population growth and climate change work hand in hand, to squeeze the last bit of food from the bowls of nations that produce them, it is becoming more and more imperative for the Chefs of tomorrow to choose to propagate the right, sustainable food to feed the discerning bellies of the world. Nature and its elements have a unique dynamics when it comes to producing fresh seasonal food at the expense of least natural resource based fossil fuels. With the development of transportation links, evolving tastes and global trade routes, every part of the developing world has the likeliness of exotic global food. Bananas produced in the foothills of a South American country, can reach the shelves of a eastern Mongolian supermarket, in a matter of days, just as nimble sugar snap peas are flown daily with love and care from the hearts of African gardens to the glistening plates of glitzy London restaurants. All is well, as long as human greed and gluttony does not interfere with the delicate cycles of nature. The moment we (human beings) start to have a taste of the exotic, we tend to over eat/indulge in the name of fashion and trend ignoring the damage it entails upon the ecosystems. Over consumption of food ingredients like Cod fish, and caviar from sturgeon fish, the destroying of mangrove forests in Asian countries to satisfy the demands for fresh water prawns in European countries, and the use of slave labour to harvest tomatoes in Italy, are only a few poignant examples of price tag behind the cost of food. The role of Chef, is thus of primary importance, when it comes to Whats on the Menu? Taking informed decisions, and keeping the Planet first, rather than profits and trends, is a clear path forward when it comes to the future of food. The balance between world hunger, famine and malnourishment and selective conscientious waste less cooking/eating, is a burning challenge for generations to come. Selective low energy traditional cooking techniques using less fossil fuels, choosing food/ingredients in season, with the least air miles behind them, Chefs of tomorrow can be the Ambassadors of Future Food sustainability.

Here in Great Britain, never has food been the subject of such vital importance than the era we live in. Chefs of note are campaigning to conserve food produce while encouraging newer generations to imbibe a better lifestyle of healthy eating. If everyone plays their little roles, by being less wasteful and more respectful towards food produce, soon there will be natural ways to feed everyone on the planet without the need of genetically modified seeds and laboratory simulated food like protein organisms.

What are your specials of the day? Chef!