Launching next month in the Principality of Monaco is the revolutionary Sustainable Gastronomy Summit, a brand new event that is the brainchild of Michelin-starred culinary master Alain Ducasse.
Talk of food security and sustainability is everywhere. Around the world, chefs, farmers and activists – as well as conscious diners – are all considering how food can be better grown, prepared and consumed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but now these different sectors are being given a single point to meet and share their thoughts: Monaco’s upcoming Sustainable Gastronomy Summit.
“Professional encounters and collective thinking”
The brainchild of the celebrated Alain Ducasse, the event will be held on Thursday 21st September at One Monte-Carlo. Set to take place from 9am to 7pm, the event is being marketed as a “day of professional encounters and collective thinking” on topics including fishing in the era of climate change, food education, sustainable industry initiatives, and the future of gastronomy.
Ducasse is arguably the biggest name to be involved, but his innovate summit has also attracted international talents such as Australian star chef Josh Niland, known for his expertise in fish, “new Peruvian cuisine” pioneers Pia Leon and Virgilio Martinez, Rwandan chef Dieuveil Malonga, who combines Afro-fusion cuisine with social entrepreneurship, the US’ Alice Waters, a leader of the “slow food movement” , and Dan Barber, known for his farm-to-table approach at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, US.
More locally, Ducasse, who is best known in Monaco for the inspirational Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse restaurant at the Hôtel de Paris, will be supported in this endeavour by Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Société des Bains de Mer and Moët Hennessy.
The creation of a Sustainable Gastronomy Charter
“It is time to change our way of thinking about food and consider it as a means to preserve the planet and its inhabitants,” reads the summit’s official website. “The [floor] will be given to agents of change: scientists, producers, committed chefs, schools, future leaders, and young leaders of the ecological transition [who] will share their experiences and innovative solutions.”
With food production responsible for one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, the mission of the summit, namely “taking action, getting involved, and building the gastronomy of the future”, will be hopefully realised with the drafting of a Sustainable Gastronomy Charter following the conclusion of this aspirational first edition of the Sustainable Gastronomy Summit.
According to organisers, culinary school students will be encouraged to participate in this landmark document, which will ultimately be shared in kitchens and classrooms around the world.
The summit will take place at One Monte-Carlo and will be broadcast live via an online stream for those who can’t make it in person.
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Photo by Monaco Life