Cook Eat Discover
How the minimum criteria of the responsible travel standard was met...
Economic responsibility
exposure for small and responsible businesses who are operating in an economically challenging
environment. Young people are abandoning this area in their droves due to a lack of opportunities, and
we hope we can help combat this difficult local situation. Our aim is that out guests have a memorable
experience, while we also drive business towards people who are doing business in a way that is
sustainable and responsible.
As outlined below in the social responsibility section, we aim to use food in nonprofit activities to work with
disadvantaged parts in society. We are working with sidelined demographics, in some cases, to provide
culinary training and skills that can promote economic self-sustainability and fast track them into an
industry for employment.
Environmental responsibility
We are passionate about connecting people with the source of their food, emphasising the importance of
respecting ingredients and the environment that creates them. We only promote businesses who are at
minimum organic, or preferably use green energy and/or sustainable innovation.
Our courses include meeting fishermen who are fighting the destruction caused to the marine
environment by trawler fisherman, mozzarella farmers making biofuel from their own buffalos' waste, olive
oil producers using the stones of the used olives to power their factory, rice growers who use only ancient
techniques, and beer brewers who power themselves from the earth's geothermal energy.
We use more or less only local products for our cookery lessons and the meals we cook for the guests,
and stick to the seasons so as to keep food miles low. We have a very low footprint, are completely
paperless and avoid air travel where possible.
Social responsibility
The above is an outline of our profit-based business activities, which have their own social positive impact
in terms of connecting people to positive and sustainable ways of producing and consuming food.
However we also aim to have an equally powerful positive nonprofit social impact. Both founders Oli and
Flo have worked in a number of capacities using food as a force for good, including running food
programmes in refugee camps in France and running healthy food cooking classes for children in
deprived areas of London. We aim to use this experience, and the reach we can develop through Cook
Eat Discover’s business activities, to use food as a power for good working with, for example, refugees,
children with disadvantaged backgrounds, people with learning disabilities, and ex convicts looking for
social and economic reintegration.
