Sustainability Today and Tomorrow
Topic: Sustainability Today and Tomorrow
Location: Mount Sinai Hospital, Hess Building, Davis Auditorium, 1470 Madison Avenue (between 101st and 102nd street), 2nd floor, NY 10029
Date of Meeting: Tuesday, June 12th, 2018, from 6 – 8 PM
Sponsor: Greater New York Dietetic Association
Name of Speaker: Chef Bill Telepan
Credentials of Speaker: Chef Telepan is one of New York’s first devotees of greenmarket cooking and is committed to showcasing the season’s bounty through his cuisine. He insists on understanding where ingredients come from, how they’re cared for, and using the best of what’s available. He trained at the Culinary Institute of America and is currently the executive chef of New York City’s restaurant, Oceana, as well as the executive chef of Wellness in the Schools (WITS), a national non-profit devoted to healthy eating in public schools. Prior to Oceana, he enjoyed a ten-year run as owner and chef of the New York City farm-to-table, Michelin-starred, restaurant, Telepan, and he was invited by Michelle Obama to join the “Chef’s Move to Schools” task force. He is also the Institute of Culinary Education’s director of sustainability where he helped develop a sustainability-focused curriculum for the next generation of chefs.
Some of the topics covered by Chef Bill Telepan included a review of our food system, the importance of real food, food access and sourcing and waste and recovery. I was really fascinated by the discussion on food waste – how much we waste and why, and ways in which organizations are working to combat this waste. We waste an exorbitant amount of food – approximately 40% of all food is thrown away (wasted). One reason for this is our aversion to “ugly food”. If produce is too ugly, blemished or bruised it doesn’t get picked, and it ends up in the garbage. Another contributing factor to food waste is that we throw away unused food – in restaurants, markets, and at home. To help combat reduce the amount of waste from unused food, City Harvest, a non-profit organization in New York City dedicated to feeding the hungry, has developed systems to collect leftovers from restaurants and markets to deliver to food pantries and soup kitchens. Restaurants have also been working to reduce their contribution to food waste in recent years by using everything, root to tail, in their recipes.
Chef Telepan also touched on his work with the nonprofit Wellness in Schools (WITS), a non-profit organization whose goal is to end childhood obesity and improve student outcomes by teaching kids’ healthy habits that help them learn and live better and exposing them to nutritious, better-quality food. WITS partners with public schools to provide nutrition and fitness education, healthy scratch-cooked meals and active recess periods, which drives systemic, long-term change, and creates healthier school cultures. By providing students with an “Alternative Menu” that is minimally processed and more scratch cooked, as well as salad bars and water jets, and education on basic skills of cooking healthy recipes, WITS is helping create healthier school cultures. Even the parents are getting involved and learning how to cook. Currently, there are WITS programs in public schools in New York, New Jersey, Florida, and California. Chef Telepan works with the WITS schools in New York, where he trains school cooks, develops healthy alternative menus for students, and develops recipes for them to make at home with their parents.
Chef Telepan also reviewed his credentials, education, and history working as a chef and restaurant owner, as well as the practices for sustainability and food waste reduction he implements in his own restaurants. He also went over how he became interested in our food systems and sustainability, and how he developed and became involved in different programs. Current farming practices and changes currently being made, as well as further changes that are needed, and how sustainability and food-to-table farming impact our health, food access, environment, and economy were also discussed.
The presentation was extremely well done, and Chef Telepan successfully met the stated goals of the session. It was not overly biased – he provided a good mix of personal opinion and facts, and successfully clarified which was which. Any facts or statistics discussed were backed up with evidence-based research.
The conference was very well run – all necessary information was provided beforehand, the presentation started on time, and it wasn’t rushed. All electronics were set-up before we came into the auditorium – the presentation was set-up and ready to go and the microphones were on and working. At the conclusion of the presentation, Chef Telepan took the time to answer questions and facilitate a discussion with the audience.
Refreshments were provided outside the auditorium before the presentation began, and there was plenty available for everyone attending. The refreshments included fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy crackers and chips, a variety of cheeses, hummus, guacamole, salsa, and other dips, as well as water and coffee. Everything was healthy and in-line with what was being talked about in the conference. However, it would have been more in-line if Chef Telepan had brought in some samples of dishes from his restaurant to try. While that probably would have been a bit of a hassle to do, it would not have been impossible since it was a fairly small conference.
Applies to: CRDN 1.4: Evaluate emerging research for application in nutrition and dietetics practice, CRDN 1.6: Incorporate critical-thinking skills in overall practice, CRDN 2.2: Demonstrate professional writing skills in preparing professional communications, CRDN 2.9: Participate in professional and community organizations
