In this summer issue of Infusion, the Scottish Chefs magazine, discover highlights from recent events, updates from the Culinary Team and Young Chef Ambassadors, sponsor features, and an exclusive preview of the upcoming World Cup!
To learn more about Worldchefs, click here.
CALAMBA CITY, Laguna — Nearly 200 aspiring young chefs from the Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) Laguna gathered for NEXTPLATE 2026: Empowering Young Chefs: Integrating Sustainability, Culture and Heritage to Transform Food Systems at the FLT Theater on July 21, 2026, highlighting the institution’s commitment to shaping future culinary leaders through sustainability, innovation, and cultural preservation.
The conference served as a platform to equip emerging culinary professionals with the knowledge and values needed to address global food challenges by integrating sustainability, cultural heritage, and responsible food practices into modern gastronomy. It emphasized environmental stewardship, ethical leadership, and the preservation of local culinary traditions as essential pillars of the future food industry.
The initiative was led under the vision of Dr. Abram Emmanuel R. Peralta, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Dr. John Carlo B. Palacol, Associate Director of the LPU Laguna Culinary Institute, reflecting the university’s continued pursuit of international collaboration and globally relevant culinary education.
Opening the conference were virtual messages from Worldchefs President Chef Andy Cuthbert and Shona Chalmers, Chair of the Worldchefs Feed the Planet Committee. Both speakers encouraged participants to embrace sustainability as a professional responsibility by promoting responsible sourcing, reducing food waste, strengthening local food systems, and creating lasting positive impacts within their communities.
The educational sessions brought together respected industry experts who explored diverse dimensions of sustainable gastronomy. Chef Safa Rodas discussed practical strategies for embedding sustainability into culinary operations, while Chef Laorence Castillo examined mindful eating, food heritage, biodiversity, and the GULAY NA! campaign as pathways toward resilient food systems. Chef Guillermo Ige Ramos highlighted the importance of Filipino gastronomy and indigenous food culture in preserving national identity, while Mr. John Sherwin Felix presented insights on biodiversity, native and endemic species, and their significance in building sustainable food systems.
The afternoon program featured an interactive panel discussion that enabled delegates to engage directly with industry leaders, exchanging perspectives on the evolving role of young chefs in addressing global food concerns. Participants also gained valuable exposure to professional networks through presentations by the LTB Chefs Association Philippines, World Food Forum (WFF) Philippines, and the Philippine Young Chefs Club (PYCC), organizations that continue to champion innovation, collaboration, and professional development within the culinary sector.
Throughout the conference, participants were encouraged to view sustainability not merely as an industry trend but as a professional commitment that connects culinary excellence with environmental responsibility, cultural preservation, and community engagement. The exchange of ideas reinforced the growing role of young culinary professionals in shaping more resilient and inclusive food systems.
By convening industry leaders, global partners, and future chefs under one platform, NEXTPLATE 2026 reaffirmed LPU Laguna’s commitment to developing globally competitive, socially responsible, and sustainability-driven culinary professionals prepared to lead the future of food while preserving culture and protecting the environment.
See below for recipe
Eggplant Parmigiana (Parmigiana di Melanzane) is one of the most iconic dishes of Italian cuisine. Likely originating in southern Italy—especially Sicily, Campania, and Emilia Romagna—it has become a national culinary symbol, prepared throughout the country with regional variations that make it unique every time. Parmigiana tells a story of tradition, but also allows for modern interpretations, with fried, baked, or grilled eggplant, mozzarella or local cheeses, and tomato sauce enriched with herbs or spices.
Yields 10 servings
For more recipes, visit www.worldchefs.org/news.
In the Summer 2026 issue of British Culinary Federation’s Culinary News magazine, read about upcoming events, discover the latest stories, and more!
To learn more about Worldchefs, click here.
Food is the ultimate connector, bridging time and space, and bringing people together in ways not much else can. Our plates can be a celebration of identity, connection, and ecology. Food culture is something we inherit, transform, and share. Rooted in the past and growing into the future, it is a living legacy and an invitation to be a part of the process.
Written in time-honored techniques and place-making ingredients, on jars and in cookbooks, the culinary traditions in our kitchens are alive, simultaneously preserving and making collective memory.
Chefs are active stewards of food culture’s living legacy. In this article, we reflect on simple ways that chefs can make the most of their role as food culture custodians and future ancestors.
The future is what we make it, through everyday actions. Here are four areas of action that every chef can incorporate into their culinary practice and the pantry they’ll pass on.
Intergenerational knowledge is power. We’ve written plenty about the importance of mentorship, but it doesn’t even need to fit into that box. Family, friends, colleagues – seek out and foster relationships with elders and up-and-comings in a spirit of openness and curiosity.
We inherit what we see and learn, and we pass on what we learn and do. There are more opportunities than you realize to engage with and influence others of all ages, in your home or professional kitchen.
Cook more beans. Source the greens your grandmother used to talk about. Recipe test like the future depends on it, because it does!
We have a world of biodiverse pantry items to pull from, but yet nearly half our calories come from just three crops: rice, wheat, and maize. Rediscover and promote heritage ingredients native to where you live. Learn and tell their stories. Talk to your local farmers and food producers for inspiration and start collaborating.
“I want people to remember what they had, not just, ‘Oh, do you remember that dish? Maybe yes, maybe not.’ No, you have to remember it. It’s important.”
Some of our best and most innovative technology is as old as dirt.
Take a moment to reflect on how much observation, experimentation and skill sits behind processes like fermentation. Or the brilliance of nixtamalization. Think about the creativity and cunning required to process and use every part of an ingredient.
These are some of our oldest food technologies. Perfected through practice and intergenerational learning, all across the globe we find diverse examples of the scientific process from farm to table. From regenerative agriculture to salt curing, research and explore an ancient innovation and see how it can inspire your next menu.
Every recipe is a living document. They are testaments of someone’s day, markers of a growing season’s climate, stories of migration and movement and of staying put. Become a part of your heritage cuisine’s story by working with and adapting its recipes.
Chefs, as storytellers, create delicious ways for people to reconnect with food culture, putting agricultural origins, cultural traditions, and shared values on a plate. Through their craft, chefs can inspire others to try new things and learn more about what they may have previously ignored.
In this article you can find chefs sharing their take on heritage recipes and the stories behind them.
These are just four simple suggestions, courses of action with huge potential. Your next menu is an opportunity. We know that chefs have an incredible, unique capacity to inspire change as trusted messengers. Bringing these four areas of action to your community through food can have more of an impact than you might realize, and the stories of these ideas in action show us just that.
Worldchefs’ recent UNESCO participation also shared this lesson. UNESCO guidelines remind us that safeguarding heritage means ensuring its vitality, not freezing it in time. Culinary heritage is alive, and we are its heartbeat. How will knowing that change the pantry you protect?
The word innovation gets thrown around a lot these days, as if it’s something out of reach. Just like the word future. But neither really are – they’re right with us, on our plates. Below are three resources to get more involved in the future of food.
Learn how you can drive impact and inspire smarter food choices and sustainable kitchen leadership. On July 28th, we have the last installment of a three-part series on The Mindful Kitchen, part of the FoodChoices4LIFE initiative.
The Mindful Kitchen #3: Facing the Guest, presented by Chef Shonah Chalmers, dives into menu psychology, sustainable menu engineering, and subtle guest communication techniques that help drive climate-smart choices in food service environments.
A chef’s recommendation is more than a selling point. It’s an opportunity to rebuild trust and drive change.
From chefs’ specials to viral recipes, what a chef recommends means more now than ever. Whether it’s a new ingredient or an issue they advocate for, people care what’s cooking. Why?
Worldchefs just launched a new Young Chefs Mentorship Program Toolkit, a practical resource created to help National Chef Associations build structured mentorship opportunities for young chefs in their communities. The toolkit offers associations a clear starting point to connect young chefs with experienced culinary professionals, turning mentorship into a more accessible and consistent pathway for learning, confidence-building, and career development. Learn more about it here.
Find Worldchefs at the World Food Forum (WFF) from 8 to 16 October 2026 at the FAO headquarters in Rome!
Learn more about the WFF Young Chef Programme here.
Cover photo: ITALY 2026. International Day of Plant Health (IDPH) 12 May 2026. Rome, Italy. A detail of the maize-based dish in the hands of Chef Diana Beltran during her cooking demonstration at the FAO MuNe Food Laboratory on the occasion of the International Day of Plant Health at FAO Headquarters, Food Laboratory (FAO MuNe). ©FAO/Giuseppe Carotenuto. Copyright ©FAO.
This article was authored by Clare Crowe Pettersson.
Can gastronomy help shape the future of a country?
According to the new Linkers Insights report, Global Gastronomy Outlook: Gastronomy as a State Strategy, the answer is increasingly yes.
The report explores how governments are beginning to look at gastronomy not only as part of culture or tourism, but as a wider strategic tool. When supported by long-term planning, gastronomy can help strengthen a country’s image, support local producers, create employment, encourage exports, attract investment, and generate greater economic value.
Food festivals, tourism campaigns, major events, and internationally recognised chefs can all bring attention to a country’s cuisine. But visibility alone is not enough.
Real impact comes when the different parts of the gastronomic sector work together: chefs, restaurants, farmers, producers, culinary schools, universities, professional associations, tourism organisations, businesses, and public institutions.
Linkers describes this as a gastronomic ecosystem: a connected system in which gastronomy can create value far beyond the restaurant industry.
A country may have outstanding chefs, rich traditions, and exceptional products. Turning those strengths into sustainable development also requires professional training, strong local food systems, cooperation between the public and private sectors, clear objectives, and long-term continuity.
Investing in people is central to this process. Alongside culinary techniques, the skills needed across the sector include leadership, business management, food safety, sustainability, languages, digitalisation, innovation, and customer service.
Examples from Peru, South Korea, Denmark, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Spain show that there is no single route to building international culinary influence.
Peru has developed gastronomy as a national project, while South Korea connects food with its wider cultural presence. Denmark has shaped an international identity around sustainability, innovation, and territory, and Japan brings culinary heritage together with modern development.
Saudi Arabia offers an emerging example of gastronomy supporting wider economic transformation. Spain demonstrates how leadership can grow through regional diversity, renowned chefs, restaurants, producers, and private initiative.
Despite their different approaches, these countries share an important idea: culinary success becomes more powerful when it is supported by a connected ecosystem and a long-term vision.
A campaign, congress, or culinary competition may attract visitors, media coverage, and online attention. But its real value can also be seen in what it leaves behind.
Has it strengthened professional training? Created opportunities for local businesses and producers? Supported tourism, employment, exports, or regional development?
Looking beyond immediate visibility makes it possible to understand whether an initiative has created lasting value for the wider sector.
In the coming years, countries may increasingly compete not only through famous chefs, signature dishes, or leading restaurants, but through the strength and authenticity of their entire gastronomic ecosystems.
Heritage, education, innovation, sustainability, local production, and collaboration will all influence how national cuisines are developed and represented internationally.
Discover the international case studies, strategic models, and trends shaping gastronomy’s growing role in tourism, economic development, and global influence.
See below for recipe
Smoked fish dip has a long history in Florida and is deeply rooted in the state’s culinary traditions. In the past, South Florida was dotted with smoked fish huts that specialized in smoking fish and selling fish dip. These huts were a popular destination for seafood lovers seeking the best-smoked fish dip in town. While many of these huts have disappeared over the years, the tradition of smoked fish dip lives on.
Today, you can find smoked fish dip made with a variety of fish in Florida. Mullet, kingfish, amberjack, and mahi-mahi are commonly used for smoking. The oilier fish, like mullet and mahi-mahi, are ideal for smoking as they retain their moisture and flavor. However, if you can’t find these specific fish, you can always substitute them with other types of smoked fish available at your local seafood shop.
Yields 6 servings
For more recipes, visit www.worldchefs.org/news.
Building a strong food safety culture takes more than standards alone. It requires practical education, skilled professionals, and collaboration at every level.
This shared commitment took centre stage in Pakistan during the recent visit of Richard Sprenger, Chairman of Highfield Group UK, hosted by COTHM Pakistan and the Chefs’ Association of Pakistan (CAP), a Worldchefs member association. Through professional training, institutional exchanges, and the inauguration of a new Centre for Food Safety and Hygiene, the initiative brought together key stakeholders to strengthen skills, standards, and long-term collaboration across the country.
Richard Sprenger, Chairman of Highfield Group UK and a globally renowned food safety expert, trained over 150 professionals and engaged with regulatory bodies, academia, and industry leaders during his landmark visit to COTHM Pakistan, strengthening the country’s food safety ecosystem and its alignment with international standards.
Invited by COTHM Pakistan and the Chefs’ Association of Pakistan (CAP), the visit quickly evolved beyond formal meetings into a national dialogue on food safety transformation, bringing together regulatory authorities, academia, and industry stakeholders under a shared global vision.
Over 150 professionals were trained during the visit, while multiple institutions across provinces were actively engaged, reinforcing a central message: food safety is not compliance alone, but a culture that must be practised consistently at every level.
During his engagements in Lahore, the Punjab Agriculture, Food and Drug Authority (PAFDA) hosted Richard Sprenger for a high-level technical exchange with senior leadership, including Director General Dr Talat Naseer Pasha and Member Food Dr Muhammad Nasir.
He also addressed around 100 scientists and food technologists, delivering an in-depth session on modern food safety governance, international best practices, and the shift towards risk-based inspection models and competency-driven enforcement systems.
The session further emphasized Pakistan’s growing scientific capacity and the importance of continuous professional development in meeting evolving global challenges in food safety.stry.
During the visit, Nestlé Professional served as the main collaborator, playing a central role in enabling the Gold Standard Training sessions and supporting the technical delivery of professional development activities.
Pearl Continental Hotel Lahore was the official Hospitality Partner, Rose Petal Professional acted as the Hygiene Partner, and McDonald’s Pakistan joined as the Food Partner.
Richard Sprenger also toured COTHM and the Chocolate Academy, interacted with students, and inaugurated key learning facilities, appreciating the institutions’ applied learning philosophy.
A major milestone of the visit was the inauguration of the Centre for Food Safety and Hygiene, marking a significant advancement in competency-based food safety education in Pakistan.
Richard Sprenger also visited the head office of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), where detailed discussions were held on laboratory systems, research alignment, and the development of a structured collaboration framework between COTHM, the Chefs’ Association of Pakistan, Highfield Group UK, and PCSIR for training and certification.
The engagements continued at Rescue 1122 Headquarters, where an in-depth knowledge exchange session was conducted with senior officials on emergency preparedness, disaster response systems, and food safety risk management during crises.
Later, he visited McDonald’s Pakistan, where food safety systems, quality assurance, and global operational compliance were observed in a live working environment. The visit concluded with strong mutual interest in establishing a formal collaboration with Highfield Group UK for training and certification development.
The series of engagements concluded with a high-level panel discussion at the Ali Institute of Education, in collaboration with Rose Petal Professional and McDonald’s Pakistan, where academia, industry leaders, and regulatory experts addressed systemic gaps and the urgent need for harmonized, competency-based national food safety standards aligned with global frameworks.
Across all engagements, from regulatory authorities and laboratories to hotels, production facilities, emergency services, and academic institutions, Richard Sprenger’s visit consistently reinforced a unified message: food safety is not merely compliance, but a culture of discipline, practice, and continuous improvement.
“Food safety is not just a system; it is a culture that must be practised consistently at every level,” said Richard Sprenger.
Ahmad Shafiq, Founder, President and CEO of COTHM Pakistan and COTHM Global UK, expressed his gratitude to Richard Sprenger for visiting Pakistan and contributing significantly to the upskilling of Pakistani professionals.
He acknowledged that Richard Sprenger’s engagements with institutions, regulatory authorities, academia, and industry stakeholders have opened new avenues for international collaboration, competency-based training, and globally aligned food safety practices in Pakistan.
Ahmad Shafiq further stated that such international collaborations are essential for strengthening Pakistan’s hospitality, food production, and regulatory sectors while preparing professionals to meet evolving global standards.
The visit of Richard Sprenger emerged as a catalyst for long-term transformation in Pakistan’s food safety landscape. It strengthened institutional collaboration, expanded professional capacity, and accelerated alignment with international standards, leaving behind sustained momentum towards a more structured, competent, and globally aligned food safety system.
Through initiatives like this, the Chefs’ Association of Pakistan and COTHM Pakistan are helping to raise professional standards while contributing valuable knowledge and experience to the wider Worldchefs community. Their work reflects the important role culinary organisations can play in building a stronger food safety culture, both locally and across the global industry.
Worldchefs is pleased to announce the recruitment of two new staff: Sara Giovenzana, our new Communications Coordinator, and Anaïs Ragueneau, our new Event Manager.
Meet Sara Giovenzana – Communications Coordinator:
Originally from Northern Italy, Sara completed a Bachelor’s degree in Media Languages at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart before continuing her studies in France with a Master’s degree in Project Management at Sorbonne Nouvelle. With a strong interest in visual communication and content creation, she combines creative skills with hands-on experience.
Living and working between Italy and France has given Sara a multicultural perspective and an appreciation for international collaboration. She enjoys organizing creative events in Paris and draws inspiration from art, culture, and design. Excited to be part of Worldchefs, Sara looks forward to supporting initiatives that celebrate food culture and connect communities around the world.
Meet Anaïs Ragueneau – Event Manager:
Anaïs is an event management professional with over 10 years of international B2B experience, having worked across Hong Kong and Paris.
Throughout her career, she has managed international events and strategic projects for organizations in the luxury, media and hospitality sectors, combining creativity with operational excellence to deliver memorable experiences.
Passionate about connecting people through events, Anaïs enjoys working in multicultural environments and contributing to projects that have a meaningful and lasting impact.
Together, let’s give a warm welcome to Sara and Anaïs!
To view the full administrative team, click here.
Across the Worldchefs community, chefs and culinary institutions continue to show that hospitality reaches far beyond the kitchen. In Pakistan, COTHM Group of Colleges, in strategic partnership with the Chefs Association of Pakistan (CAP), has demonstrated this spirit through a major humanitarian blood donation initiative supporting patients in urgent need of care.
Over the past two years, COTHM Group of Colleges and CAP have donated approximately 1,000 blood bags through a series of blood donation drives conducted in collaboration with various blood collection and welfare organizations, including the Sundas Foundation and other reputable blood banks.
These contributions have provided critical support to patients suffering from life-threatening conditions such as thalassemia, hemophilia, blood cancer, including leukemia, and other medical emergencies requiring regular blood transfusions.
The large-scale donation campaign was carried out across multiple campuses in Punjab, including COTHM New Garden Town – Lahore, COTHM Johar Town – Lahore, COTHM Sarai Alamgir, COTHM Islamabad, COTHM Rawalpindi, and COTHM Jail Road – Lahore. Students, faculty members, and administrative staff actively participated in recurring blood donation drives, reflecting a sustained institutional commitment to community welfare and public health support.
Medical sources associated with the initiative noted that each blood bag can be processed into different components, allowing a single donation to support multiple patients according to their medical needs. This approach significantly increases the humanitarian impact of every donation.
A representative from the Sundas Foundation acknowledged the contribution, highlighting that the availability of safe and timely blood supply remains one of the most pressing challenges in treating thalassemia and cancer patients in Pakistan. He emphasized that partnerships with educational institutions such as COTHM play a vital role in bridging this gap and ensuring continuity of care for registered patients.
COTHM Group of Colleges reaffirmed its commitment to continuing blood donation drives in the future, stating that these efforts not only support critical healthcare needs but also help instill a deeper sense of humanitarian responsibility among students and staff.
More than a donation drive, this initiative is a strong example of care in action. COTHM Group of Colleges and the Chefs Association of Pakistan have shown how organized efforts can make a real difference in moments where timely support can be life-saving.
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