Culinary Craftsmanship under Green Transition

In reaction to the multifaced crisis surrounding food, we are witnessing some new innovative development in food products as well as eating habits. Some of such instances include plant-based proteins and usage of various side-streams, pushed by huge grants from financial schemes. Such investment in food innovation is often allocated towards capital investment for production scale-up or the costs of accelerating research and development processes by food scientists. One interesting and relevant question emerges here is whether culinary craftsmanship has completely disappeared at the expense of ‘new food’. Put another way, does culinary craftsmanship necessarily stand against technology and innovation? If not, how does the combination between culinary craftsmanship and techno-scientific innovation, instead of separation, can help build a sustainable future of food? Furthermore, such questions connecting craftsmanship and techno-scientific innovation do not exclude restaurant-settings. When chefs increasingly rely their culinary development on various equipment, how do we, as social scientists, ought to understand, theorise and narrate the role of craftsmanship?  

Taken such interests together, this research question asks the following question: How culinary expertise can be used to create delicious, healthy and sustainable meals for different target groups. More specifically, the research will focus on how ‘culinary craftsmanship’ can be developed so that food and meals become an obvious part of the green transition to contribute to a more sustainable way of living and eating.