Beef or Beet Wellington? Chefs, meat reduction, and hindering and supportive forms of craftsmanship

Summary

One of the most effective ways to mitigate climate change is to shift to more plant-based consumption practices. In this context, hands-on professionals in the food sector such as chefs are often seen as change-makers. Yet, most restaurants in wealthier countries predominantly serve meat and fish. In this paper, we use chefs and their embodied relationship with food as a case, and combine theories of practice and craftsmanship, to better understand the potential roles, both supportive and hindering, of craftsmanship in the protein transition. Drawing on 23 semi-structured interviews with a diverse mix of executive head chefs of Dutch restaurants in terms of menu type (animal/plant ratio), sector (fine dining/regular), and geographical location (city/rural), we found a reciprocal relationship between agentic capacity of animal- and plant-based materials and embodied skill. Based on this relationship, we found two forms of craftsmanship that relate differently to the protein transition. We argue that a “classical” form, in which a strong embodied relationship with animal- and a weaker one with plant-based materials is embedded, hinders a protein shift in chefs’ practice. We highlight the important role of culinary education in strengthening the relationship with plant-based materials and defining plant-based cooking as a prestigious challenge.