Information Event and Expert Meeting in Germany

Information Event:

The info event in Germany was organized by the Thüringer Ökoherz e.V., on the 27th February 2018 in Erfurt, in a seminar room near the canteen of Mike Oertel, the chairman of the association of chefs of Germany. 13 members of the professional association of chefs of Germany attended the information event.

Franziska Galander of TÖH introduced the association and why sustainability is an important factor in communal catering; mobility and single person households are on the rise, people eat outside their homes more often which leads to a steady growth in communal catering since 2012.

This was followed by an overview of sustainable communal catering in Germany.

Trends in the communal catering due to current research (INTERNORGA GV – Barometer 2018) are: regional food, seasonal food, health food, animal welfare, organic produce, waste management.

This lead up to a seamless introduction to the project ReKuK and the five modules the vocational training is split into: foods use, sustainable menu planning, waste management, energy efficiency and communication & marketing.

Mike Oertel supported the TÖH and emphasized why he things the training and the topics covered are relevant to all kitchens that want to present themselves as future oriented, modern and sustainable. The information event ended with invitations to the test trainings for the participants.

Expert Meeting:

The TÖH tried two times to invite experts to Meet and discuss the modules but due to lack of compensation and long travel distances no experts agreed under those conditions. TÖH then requested a shuffling of funds so each expert could be compensated. With this it was possible to win one expert per module. The teaching materials were sent to them. As a follow-up after an agreed time a skype conference was held with each expert where they could give feedback on the materials and were also asked about current trends in the sector, organic farming, and their experiences with their own kitchen or other kitchens they work with,