Abstract
This study investigates the pivotal role of professional chefs as food designers, emphasizing informed decision-making, community engagement, and strategic partnerships in pursuing regenerative practices within food systems. Through participant observation in southeast Brazilian food service venues, we examine chefs' views and actions regarding the socio-political-environmental ramifications of their choices, including labor practices and ingredient sourcing. Businesses were selected based on their commitment to sustainable or regenerative ideals. Findings underscore the chefs' influence in thoughtfully selecting ingredients, suppliers, and labor, impacting territory health, community well-being, cultural preservation, and economic prosperity. This research contributes with practical insights for building a more equitable and sustainable food system in Brazil based on systemic design principles, global food systems trends, and local experiences.
Keywords
food design; chefs; regenerative; food system
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.667
Citation
Gonzalez, E., and Quaresma, M. (2024) Food choices: What is on our plates?, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.667
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Food choices: What is on our plates?
This study investigates the pivotal role of professional chefs as food designers, emphasizing informed decision-making, community engagement, and strategic partnerships in pursuing regenerative practices within food systems. Through participant observation in southeast Brazilian food service venues, we examine chefs' views and actions regarding the socio-political-environmental ramifications of their choices, including labor practices and ingredient sourcing. Businesses were selected based on their commitment to sustainable or regenerative ideals. Findings underscore the chefs' influence in thoughtfully selecting ingredients, suppliers, and labor, impacting territory health, community well-being, cultural preservation, and economic prosperity. This research contributes with practical insights for building a more equitable and sustainable food system in Brazil based on systemic design principles, global food systems trends, and local experiences.