Championing a sustainable future

"You can still have steak, fish and lobsters, but maybe not 200 grams per serving - perhaps just 50 grams would do. This would then compel chefs to design a delicious dish that is vegetable-based."

Kooy also points out that chefs have a key role to play in food sustainability. Being "curators of taste", chefs can reduce meat consumption by creating appetizing vegetable-based dishes that can sway the preference of the masses. Creating such dishes, however, is no easy feat as it is more difficult to achieve robust flavors when cooking with vegetables, says Kooy. As such, the Dutchman says he is in the midst of developing new cooking techniques and recipes that could "make vegetables taste like meat".

Kooy shares that the flavor of meat is created by the Maillard reaction, which refers to the chemical reaction that takes place when proteins and sugars of food are transformed by dry-heat cooking, in turn creating new flavors, aromas and colors. He says this is why people tend to prefer French fries over boiled potatoes and pan-fried steak over poached meat.