Nachhaltigkeitstage Uni Hohenheim - Food Waste and Michelin Star Cooking
Nachhaltigkeitstag Uni Hohenheim - Food Waste and Michelin Star Cooking
Reflecting back in time and specifically on the years 2015 to 2017 brings me back to a project close to my heart: the ‘Nachhaltigkeitstag’ (lit. translation Sustainability Day) at the University of Hohenheim.
Nachhaltigkeitstag University of Hohenheim
Synopsis: From 2015-2017 I was tasked with organising the “Sustainability Day” at the university alongside a team of dedicated colleagues. The event featured a collaborative meal preparation by young refugees and students, guided by chefs from a local Michelin-starred restaurant, serving approximately 300 guests. Ingredients consisted of vegetables that were not sold in supermarkets due to their appearance but were otherwise perfectly edible. The day also provided a platform for attendees to engage in meaningful discussions with politicians and decision-makers. In recognition of our collective efforts, the initiative was honoured in 2017 as one of the top five in the regional “Sustainable Development” programme by the State Minister of the Environment in Baden-Württemberg.
The University of Hohenheim resides in an castle built during the 17th century which was transformed into an agricultural academy after food shortages due to The Year Without a Summer 1816.
Inside the castle, several university chairs and the university administration are located, among those also the Chair of Societal Transition and Agriculture where I had the privilege of working for three years.
Free Lunch and Food for Thought
But that’s not it, the castle also houses a Michelin-Starred Restaurant called Speisemeisterei.
Together with the Chefs de Cuisine Markus Eberhardinger (now having his own Slow-Food coutryside restaurant) and Frank Oehler (celebrity TV Chef in Germany) some friends and colleagues from university and I teamed up to organise this nice event for three consecutive years.
Hungry People in Line
Francesco Armillota, the greengrocer of the restaurant helped us to obtain the ingredients: Vegetables that supermarkets had rejected for their appearance but which were still perfectly edible. Just one day collecting those at the wholesale market in Stuttgart yielded enough produce to feed approx. 300 guests. Crazy!
Let’s see what Francesco brought to us!
Markus explaining to me how we will handle and season all of those veggies.
While the Michelin-starred chefs supervised the cooking and seasoning noumerous helping hands facilitated the cooking itself. See the pictures.
What an honour: We were awarded with a sustainability award by the Environmental Minister. Fun fact: During the panel I was so nervous to talk in front of so many people that my answers to the questions I was asked did not really make sense - at least it was fun for my friends in the audience.
Nervous me Photo (c) Frank Eppler
Check out the leaflet and documentation docs I wrote at the time.
Nachhaltigkeitstag University of Hohenheim
Links: [1] 1816 - The Year Without a Summer see on wikipedia
[2] Chair of Societal Transition and Agriculture sta.uni-hohenheim.de
[3] Speisemeisterei Hohenheim, Michelin Star Restaurant on: www.speisemeisterei.de
[4] Frank Oehler and Markus Eberhardinger, Chef de Cuisine at the time on: Frank Oehler personal website Slowfood - Markus Eberhardinger
[5] Docs: Leaflet Nachhaltigkeitstag and Documentation: Leaflet_Nachhaltigkeitstag.pdf and Dokumentation_Nachhaltigkeitstag.pdf
