Three Elior partner Chefs testify about the challenges facing the food service industry

Catherine Kluger is the creator of the organic brand Supernature. Catherine creates healthy recipes for Elior corporate customers.

Catherine Kruger Produce that is as healthy as it is delicious is produce that needs the minimum of preparation. The only reason for tampering with the taste of food is to fulfil the desire to eat the same things all year round at all costs. But a tomato can never taste great in winter. However when you eat a tomato picked at the peak of ripeness, all you need is a little fleur de sel sea salt and olive oil: the produce itself is tasty and delicious, so it needs no more preparation than that! Eating with the seasons is very important. But if people are to change their dietary habits, we need to be offering them meals that are full of color and taste. Achieving that doesn’t involve mixing up 50 different flavors, but it does require us to offer people simple, delicious food that requires the minimum of preparation. If you respect the produce you work with, there’s no need for tons of sugar and salt to produce a lovely dish. Instead, you can use blends of spices, a few fresh herbs, seeds, etc. That’s what will make people want to dip their spoons in your food! Retaining taste is the most important thing for me.

Produce that is as healthy as it is delicious is produce that needs the minimum of preparation.

Catherine Kluger

Eugenio Boer is proprietor and chef at Bu:r di Eugenio Boer, the Milan restaurant he opened in 2018. Eugenio also trains Elior chefs at the Food Academy.

Eugenio Boer The dining table is primarily a place to get together with family and friends for a shared and pleasurable experience. For me, sharing lovely food and enjoying good wine is the very definition of togetherness. It’s simultaneously a calm space in our lives and a time and place that’s all about pleasure. That's why we like to spoil our guests: so that they feel free to enjoy themselves. It’s the immediacy of the experience that creates this pleasure, and that demands a certain simplicity in terms of the plate of food presented. There's just no need to complicate things! This simplicity is reflected in my dishes, and informed by a new take on Italian cuisine. When choosing ingredients, I take my inspiration from the traditions of Italian farmers and artisan food producers.
I’m also inspired by encounters, so each of my recipes contains something of all the people I’ve met and who’ve enhanced my cuisine.

Each of my recipes contains something of all the people I’ve met and who’ve enhanced my cuisine.

Eugenio Boer

Sergio Fernandez is a Spanish chef and host of the TV show Cocinamos Contigo. Sergio worked with Serunion on the launch of its ‘Nutrifriends’ program.

Sergio Fernandez In today’s world, we must give more priority than ever to using local produce. Reducing the distance our food travels by eating local inevitably generates less pollution. It's also a guarantee of quality. Market cuisine is good cuisine because it’s all about seasonality. In Spain, we have a great fine dining tradition built around vegetable dishes. It's a very sustainable style of cuisine! Another challenge is to minimize food waste. The first rule of cooking is that you must always begin by estimating the ingredients you need as accurately as possible. If you need two peppers, don’t buy a kilo! Take a look at what’s already in the fridge, and be inspired by the produce you already have. It makes you more creative and helps you avoid waste. The second rule is: recycle! Whatever the recipe, there’s always an original way of using the leftovers. And lastly, when you cook, the result must be so appetizing that you can’t resist emptying your plate and posting a photo on Instagram to make your friends envious!

Market cuisine is good cuisine because it’s all about seasonality.

Sergio Fernandez