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September 28, 2024
UNESCO appoints Daniel Humm as its Goodwill Ambassador for Food Education.
Photo: Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of UNESCO, has designated Daniel Humm, a celebrated Swiss chef and advocate for plant-based cuisine, as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Food Education. Image provided by & copyright © UNESCO.
Paris / New York, September 27, 2024—Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of UNESCO, has designated Daniel Humm, a celebrated Swiss chef and advocate for plant-based cuisine, as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Food Education. The official appointment took place on Tuesday at Eleven Madison Park, his three-Michelin-starred restaurant in New York.
“Daniel Humm is much more than one of the world’s most gifted chefs. He is a passionate advocate for sustainable nutrition who has staked his career on his beliefs, defying the skeptics and proving that the finest cuisine can be an ally in protecting our precious planet. A luminary in the culinary community, no one is better placed to promote the powerful connections between food and education,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay stated.
“I am deeply honored to join UNESCO as Goodwill Ambassador. The language of food is so powerful, and together, we will work to demonstrate how choices around food can create solutions and empower future generations, as well as to bring further awareness to Indigenous culinary traditions and their critical role in sustainability and food equity,” Three-starred chef, Daniel Humm, remarked.
As a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Daniel Humm will direct his efforts toward food education, a topic at the intersection of the Organization’s mandate. It aligns with global initiatives on environmental and health education, the preservation of intangible cultural practices, and the safeguarding of natural heritage and biodiversity in the context of climate disruption.
Audrey Azoulay and Daniel Humm have established an agreement wherein the latter will advocate for UNESCO at prominent international assemblies, such as the forthcoming COP for biodiversity scheduled for late October in Colombia. Additionally, he will promote UNESCO-designated sites that embody agricultural, culinary, and gastronomic heritage, encompassing World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves, and UNESCO’s network of 350 Creative Cities, 56 of which are specifically designated as cities of Gastronomy.
To promote sustainable food practices, Chef Humm will host a plant-based public dinner with Chef Mauro Colagreco in January 2025 as part of his Goodwill Ambassador initiatives for UNESCO.
Daniel Humm will also actively participate in developing a new UNESCO International Food Atlas, which will promote and safeguard hundreds of culinary traditions and foodways inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Born in Switzerland, Daniel Humm earned his first Michelin star at 24. He later became the Executive Chef at Eleven Madison Park in New York, which received three Michelin stars and was named the #1 restaurant in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2017.
Humm co-founded Rethink Food, a nonprofit based in New York City that aims to create a more equitable and sustainable food system. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniel Humm launched several initiatives to provide nutrition to food-insecure New Yorkers. It included repurposing his high-end restaurant as a kitchen producing 2000 meals a week for the Organization. These efforts prompted a reflection on how to address global food insecurity and develop more sustainable food production systems.
In 2021, Chef Humm initiated a significant departure from his culinary history by transitioning the menu at Eleven Madison Park to an entirely plant-based offering. Notably, the restaurant retained its prestigious three Michelin stars, signifying the first instance in which a plant-based establishment achieved this distinction. This decision was motivated by environmental concerns, including climate disruption and overfishing.
With 194 member states, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) contributes to peace and security by leading multilateral cooperation on education, science, culture, communication, and information. Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO has offices in 54 countries and oversees more than 2000 World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves, and Global Geoparks. Additionally, it manages networks of creative, learning, inclusive, and sustainable cities and over 13,000 associated schools, university chairs, training, and research institutions.
Source: UNESCO
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