Is it strange if a chef doesn't only work for income, better life, satisfied guests, and professional fulfillment? Not, if all of these are already achieved. But what is beyond? The thought, that they are also a part of the world, and their duty is to treat its resources with care, which gives their profession a different meaning. It is not only about them and their ego anymore, but also about others. 

In 2019 on the Ethical Chef's days 121 chefs contributed to make possible an ethical way of life in and outside the kitchens. Their mission is to change the world by chefs, but instead of talking about it, they want to do it with single-minded, persistent small everyday actions, like taking care of the environment, the local communities and the rhythm of nature, promoting an ethical and sustainable approach to cooking.

Chef Jock Zonfrillo (restaurant Orana in Adelaide, Australia) fights for the local community, their traditions and for biodiversity. Are these beyond a chef's duty, or should these be in the heart of their actions?

Chef Dominique Crenn (restaurant Atelier Crenn in SanFransisco) said, besides the ingredients, part of our identity and character is also cooked into a dish. At least that is how it should happen every time, when a chef starts to cook. 

http://www.care-s.it/

Food-related professions have a lot of responsibility for the future. A chef is the link between agricultural and food sector. Our food production system is accountable for many of the environmental issues we have today. But seriously, what can a chef do? Well, everything and nothing.

With or without

A chef can be a good cook, work for the best star-restaurants, work with the most expensive ingredients and cook for people who can afford it. A chef can ignore the local production, the seasons, the global warming. A chef can chop the carrots, roast the fish perfectly and serve it beautifully, with a complete ignorance.

But if (s)he is not ignorant, (s)he can save the world, at least a tiny part of it. Chefs are much more responsible, than they think. They do not just go to work, they do not just chop the carrot and roast the fish. They are partly responsible for the farmers, their products, nature's resources, soil health, clean water, the environmental issues, the rain forests, the biodiversity, the agricultural pollution...and also for the delicious food which is going to end up on our plates.

They should see, better than anyone else, that our Planet is a complex network of fragile ecosystems, which needs to be taken care of, partly by them. They should think, that they can make this Planet into a better place, or at least that they have the power not to make it into a worse one. Only by what they cook with, and how they think.

Everyone is a chef

You do not have to be a professional chef to cook responsibly. We are all cooks of our own kitchen, home, family and friends. And besides the ingredients, we can use our identity, characteristics, ideology as spices to make a good, clean and fair food without remorse.

 

Cooking is not only a question of the chef and its fame, neither the numbers of starts. Cooking is not only about perfection and techniques, but also about respecting the work of others. Cooking is about community, about respect, about caring for each other, about a past full with traditions, about a sustainable present, and about an equally livable future for everyone and everything. So, yes I think chefs can do a lot. And maybe even more...