Lidl Cyprus’ 1st Sustainable Gastronomy Competition was successfully completed

Lidl Cyprus’ first Sustainable Gastronomy Competition held under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and the Cyprus Chefs' Association, was successfully completed. The competition was attended by four culinary colleges: Alpha Culinary & Beverage, American College, Intercollege and InterNapa College, which competed for the most delicious, sustainable menu.

As part of the awards ceremony held at the Lidl Food Academy on June 17, the winning team was Intercollege, with Kyriakos Kerlegkou, Symeon Stefanou and Efstathios Frangou receiving their medals. Under the guidance of team leader Nicolas Konstantinou, Intercollege students managed to create a three-course menu within 90 minutes, which met specific criteria of sustainable gastronomy, such as seasonality and locality of raw materials, energy and water consumption during preparation, portion size, use of sustainable products and packaging recyclability.

The prizes were awarded by Giannis Epaminondas, Head of HR & Administration of Lidl Cyprus, who said: "I would like to thank everyone who took part in the competition and especially the young chefs who competed with creativity and dedication, advocating the principles of sustainable gastronomy”. The protection of the environment and the promotion of healthy eating are key pillars of our corporate strategy, said Evelina Syrigou, CSR Specialist of Lidl Cyprus, who added: “For us at Lidl Cyprus, sustainability is a commitment to quality, a commitment to human kind, society and nature. The aim of the Sustainable Gastronomy Competition is to raise awareness and encourage the new generation of chefs and consequently the consumer public to adopt good practices in the cooking process”.

The event was greeted by the General Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mr. Andreas Grigoriou, who congratulated Lidl Cyprus for the special event, while emphasizing the important role of sustainable gastronomy in achieving the goals of sustainable development. "It was our pleasure to hold this special competition under our auspices, as it promotes further progress in agricultural production, food safety, healthy eating, sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation." Particular reference was made to the urgent need to reduce food waste, a global problem, with economic as well as environmental dimensions.

"The standards of the competition were very high, with the teams of young chefs presenting excellent dishes that largely met the criteria of responsible gastronomy. Selecting the winners wasn’t an easy decision," said the chef of Lidl Food Academy and judge of the competition, Konstantinos Petevinos.

Through its business model, Lidl Cyprus prioritises the implementation of best practices of sustainability and social responsibility, on the road to a better tomorrow.