Valuing NUCs in sustainable cooking competitions to increase their use in restaurants (Deliverable 6.4)

Neglected and underutilised crops (NUCs) are rarely used in restaurants. To make them more popular, DIVINFOOD has joined forces with the first sustainable cooking competition in France. This competition is open to restaurant chefs and cooks with the purpose of promoting NUCs as a key component of sustainability. The introduction of NUCs into the culinary contest emerged from a partnership with a chef, concerned by sustainability and supporting agroecological farmers. The chef had the opportunity to test the DIVINFOOD ‘meat-bean’ (haricot viande in French) in his cuisine and developed some new recipes. Through this experience, he learned to value this NUC and to promote it to other chefs involved in organising the Sustainable Cooking Competition. In 2023, the contest involved eight young chefs who creatively showcased the NUC in their recipes. The initiative received strong media coverage in the professional and general press, raising awareness about NUCs among a wide range of chefs, cooks, consumers and policy-makers. The second edition of the competition, held in 2024, highlighted a second DIVINFOOD NUC, which is the grass pea (chíchero in Portuguese). This type of initiative can be replicated in Europe. The first step is to identify one or more chefs who are interested in sustainability and can act as opinion leaders within their community of chefs. Working with them to test one or more NUCs will enable the chefs to see for themselves the value of NUCs in their cuisine. Once convinced, they can use their networks to develop culinary competitions that celebrate sustainability and showcase the NUCs.