Sustainable Recipes Wanted: Our KochCUP Project Competition Is Launched! Beyond competition on the field, sports like football are a powerful way to change things for the better on a larger scale. Our KochCup project wants to capitalise on the popularity of the 17th men’s UEFA Football Championship (EURO 2024) to raise awareness and mainstream environmentally-friendly food. How? Through organising a competition of sustainable recipes that will run before and during EURO 2024. The call for entries is open now! The competition, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), is primarily aimed at German trainee chefs. From May to end of July 2023, culinary trainees can submit their seasonal, regional, and plant-based recipes to the KochCup project and become part of the competition. How tasty, healthy, and sustainable a recipe is will be decided by an interdisciplinary jury of food and environmental experts as well as professional chefs and sport scientists on the basis of various criteria. For example, recipes should be as far as possible plant-based, organic, seasonal, regional, and should produce as little food waste as possible. The winners will have the opportunity to take a master class with star chef Stephan Hentschel & Friends. All winners from the preliminary rounds and the finals will receive awards and their recipes will be featured on the project website, in the media and on social media. “Sustainability and resource-saving management play a major role in the hospitality industry, which is why they have also been given more space in our new training programs. In the KochCup project, the trainees can put their creative skills in the spotlight as part of the 2024 European Football Championship and thus stimulate guests’ and professionals’ appetites for innovative, delicious and sustainable food.”, notes Sandra Warden, Managing Director at the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA) and vocational training expert. “As patron of the KochCup, I would like to motivate trainees not only to create fancy and delicious dishes, but also to think about tomorrow in the process. Being able to cook with a plant-based approach is no longer a trend, but a culinary direction that you need to have in your portfolio as a chef or cook. Just like in top-class sports, practice makes perfect! And that’s exactly what the KochCup provides an important impetus for.”, adds Anton Schmaus, Michelin-starred chef, head chef of the German national soccer team, restaurateur, author and concept developer. For additional information on the competition, please visit the KochCup website. For further questions, please contact Alexander Mannweiler. Photo by Jeff Siepman on Unsplash.