Success factors of sustainable out-of-home cooking

Eating out-of-home becomes increasingly habitual throughout Europe. Since human nutrition contributes significantly to global natural resource use the issue of sustainable cooking (beginning with the composition of the ingredients in the recipes, over sourcing and preparation to reduction of food waste and leftovers) requires attention. Equally, sustainable meal choices by consumers in the out-of-home catering market are a necessity to attain the SDGs. This study focusses on the people offering food out-of-home – the cooks. An exploratory approach was used to assess the factors inhibiting and promoting sustainable cooking in catering today. Based on a review of mission statements and sustainability strategies developed and described in previous research in the field, six categories were identified (staff, company strategy, communication, sourcing, value orientation, general conditions). A group of six practitioners participated in problem-centered expert interviews in December 2018 in a major city in Germany. While the interviewees belonged to different catering sectors, their assessment of success factors and barriers matched very well. It became obvious that the strategies and mission statements already developed by researchers to make the out-of-home catering sector more sustainable are in line with the impressions and assessment of cooks. Hence, they can be applied in the transition process needed in this food segment. With respect to the identified barriers, the (training-)tools already developed and used by the research group to support the catering sector on its way towards sustainable cooking can be an additional approach to support transition processes. These instruments range from tools to calculate the sustainability effect of a certain recipe to trainings on how to use the tool to the development of summer school formats to connect sustainability pioneers and allow for interactive exchange. Furthermore, the interviews provide valuable insights into the relevance of personal normative beliefs related to sustainability for sustainable cooking practise. Here, appropriate measures still have to be developed to support the creation of consciousness which lead to an impact on everyday practice of sustainable cooking. Sensitizing cooks for current and global relevance of sustainable cooking and eating in addition to training them in this kind of still ‘alternative’ cooking practise is an important field which has to be addressed in vocational education. Here, curricula have to be revised and pioneers’ experiences should be applied to develop the amended curricula. Also the role of political frameworks influencing routines and specifications in food supply chains was identified as a relevant factor contributing to meal offers. Hence, research in this field also has to attract politicians’ awareness to change framework conditions such as tender specifications of school lunch.