The Barcelona Culinary Hub (BCH) of Planet Training and Universities has joined the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to promote sustainability within the restaurant sectors, food and related services through a virtual platform that will act as a laboratory for sustainable culinary innovation, the Sustainable Culinary ThinkLab. This educational project is an initiative whose priority is to link experts from Europe and the Mediterranean, the United States, and Latin America with students from anywhere in the world.
The Sustainable Culinary ThinkLab will promote cooperation between the two organizations in the areas of research, professional development and industry impact, as well as to foster international knowledge through educational and intercultural activities and projects that will have the participation of students, academics and professionals from the different areas of the two institutions.
Within this framework, the two organizations will carry out joint actions and projects to promote research and innovation in gastronomic sustainability; They will explore traditional and culturally embedded models of sustainable food and production, and collaborate with change makers in the geographic regions of both organizations.
Specifically, it will include the creation of an observatory on sustainable innovation, the participation of CIA members in certain actions of the Barcelona Culinary Hub (such as the advisory committee, among others), as well as the exchange of professionals, academic leaders and students between the institutions . The collaboration framework also includes BCH’s participation in important international culinary events organized by the CIA, such as the Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival and the Global Plant Forward Culinary Summit.
Sustainable Culinary ThinkLab
In recent years, sustainability and health have become increasingly important as a fundamental pillar for the success of gastronomic projects. In a society that is increasingly aware of environmental responsibility, the gastronomic sector must respond by offering sustainable solutions through professionalisation, digitalisation and the creation of new gastronomic business models.
The Sustainable Culinary ThinkLab aims to innovate and respond to the following needs and opportunities in the sector:
- Business management and global vision of the business. Recognizing the immensity of our collective challenge to integrate global health into our food systems, including restaurants, food services and related industries, the future of the sector requires more professional profiles, specialized in management and with a global vision of business needs. in all areas, including a firm commitment to sustainability by the different actors involved in the gastronomy sector.
- Innovation: Innovation is an essential requirement in the business sector and, of course, also in the culinary field. Through education, research and international cooperation, the Sustainable Culinary ThinkLab will highlight the importance of introducing innovation to mitigate the impact of the gastronomy sector on the environment. For this, it is essential to better understand the potential of technology in its role as a key ally to move towards more sustainable and innovative solutions.
- Evolution towards new feeding and production models. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other expert observers, food still has a long way to go to reflect global health imperatives. For this reason, education and research are needed that bring together professionals from both the producer/supplier community and the restaurant/food service community to create, disseminate and promote new sustainable gastronomic models, in addition to fostering regenerative initiatives of agricultural and food production.
- Training as a tool to promote change. Culinary schools have had to rethink educational models to value the importance of incorporating sustainability as a priority within the sector. To do this, it is necessary to make spaces such as the Sustainable Culinary ThinkLab available to professionals and students in the gastronomic sector, where the importance of working sustainably and promoting environmental awareness and solutions is highlighted and valued.
