Denmark’s US$200m plan to train chefs in plant-based cuisine, tackle climate change

COPENHAGEN: When 22-year-old Aricia Dworkin steps into the kitchen each morning, she is working towards a more unconventional career than her fellow trainee chefs.

The culinary student at Copenhagen Hospitality College wants to go beyond a foundation in classical French cooking and specialise in making vegetarian cuisine – even though she is not vegetarian.

“I enjoy the creativity of this specific way of cooking, and I also see (that) climate-wise, this is where we’re going,” she said.

Dworkin is among a new generation of chefs being trained under Denmark’s ambitious US$200 million Plant-Based Food Grant – part of a national push to make sustainable eating the norm rather than the exception.

Danish chefs told CNA they believe that demand for plant-based dishes is more than just a flash in the pan, though the key challenge lies in getting the broader society to adapt to this shift in appetite.

Copenhagen Hospitality College’s project manager Christian Fentz said its vegetarian chef programme aims to transform eating habits and public perceptions about plant-based meals.

The school hopes to encourage more restaurants to embrace these newly trained chefs and their plant-forward menus, he added.

“When you talk about climate-friendly foods, sometimes people don’t think it tastes nice because it has to taste climate-friendly, but that’s not the point,” Fentz, who is a chef himself, noted.

“The vegetables have to be perfectly seasoned and perfectly cooked and maybe also with a lot of creativity, so that’s what we’re learning to teach the students.”

DETAILED INDUSTRY ROADMAP

Denmark’s push towards plant-based eating began in earnest in 2021, when the government announced a plan to get more plant-based food onto dinner tables.

Two years later, it unveiled a detailed industry roadmap – a global first – that signalled its commitment to backing this transformation financially and politically.

That ambition stands in sharp contrast to Denmark’s reputation as the world’s biggest producer of meat per capita.

But Frederik Madsen, acting head of secretariat at the Danish Plant-Based Business Association, said the idea was planted by several supportive lawmakers and non-governmental organisations.

“Within the parliament, there was political momentum that this was maybe a good business case for the country to look into the plant-based industry and to support the industry as a new growing business for the country,” he added.

Currently, 80 per cent of Denmark’s farmland is dedicated to livestock and feed crops – both major sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

Advocates then sought to win over farmers by including their plan in a broader deal that supports the animal industry.

Lise Walbom, CEO of the public-private partnership Food Nation, said Denmark’s success lies in its collaborative approach, with industry-wide conversations on climate partnerships already taking place since 2019.

“By involving the private sector at this very early stage in setting targets for the whole value chain, I think this is one of the keys to success when we really want to see change in the long term,” she said.

That sentiment was echoed by Louise Johansen, head of programmes at the Vegetarian Society of Denmark, who said she believes the country’s meat-heavy past makes it a model for other nations.

“We will also be relatable to other countries as well, because we are definitely no angels,” she noted.

This way, nations that have a heavy meat industry like Denmark can still work on creating a strong plant-based sector, she added.

As Denmark prepares to present its strategies at the ongoing United Nations’ Climate Change Conference (COP30), it hopes its recipe for success will inspire others.

The country aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent by 2030 – and on its menu of solutions, plant-based food sits right at the top.