Chefs Collaborative

"Our growing community of chefs, farmers, fishers, educators, and food lovers is dedicated to promoting sustainable cuisine. Join Us!"
"Chefs Collaborative works with chefs and the greater food community to celebrate local foods and foster a more sustainable food supply. The Collaborative inspires action by translating information about our food into tools for making knowledgeable purchasing decisions. Through these actions, our members embrace seasonality, preserve diversity and traditional practices, and support local economies."
http://chefscollaborative.org/


Founded in 1993, Chefs Collaborative is the leading culinary organization that provides its members with tools for running economically healthy, sustainable food service businesses. The non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization has more than 1,000 active and passionate food community professionals as members, 70% of whom are chefs. This impressive nationwide network represents independent and corporate establishments. Other members represent a broad range of food-related professions, from culinary school instructors and managers of large food service operations to distributors, owners of specialty stores, and farmers, fishermen, and ranchers.

Together, we share a common concern about the sources of the food we eat. We work collectively to promote the highest-quality, best-tasting local ingredients; products we know are better for the environment, our communities, and the nation’s tables.


Mission:

Chefs Collaborative works with chefs and the greater food community to celebrate local foods and foster a more sustainable food supply. The Collaborative inspires action by translating information about our food into tools for making knowledgeable purchasing decisions. Through these actions, our members embrace seasonality, preserve diversity and traditional practices, and support local economies.


Statement of Principles:

Food is fundamental to life, nourishing us in body and soul. The preparation of food strengthens our connection to nature. And the sharing of food immeasurably enriches our sense of community.
Good food begins with unpolluted air, land, and water, environmentally sustainable farming and fishing, and humane animal husbandry.
Food choices that emphasize delicious, locally grown, seasonally fresh, and whole or minimally processed ingredients are good for us, for local farming communities, and for the planet.
Cultural and biological diversity are essential for the health of the earth and its inhabitants. Preserving and revitalizing sustainable food, fishing, and agricultural traditions strengthen that diversity.
By continually educating themselves about sustainable choices, chefs can serve as models to the culinary community and the general public through their purchases of seasonal, sustainable ingredients and their transformation of these ingredients into delicious food.
The greater culinary community can be a catalyst for positive change by creating a market for good food and helping preserve local farming and fishing communities.


Our vision: As a result of our work, every chef in the U.S.A. will be aware that food purchasing choices affect the environment and our communities.