Meeting an American Culinary Foundation Certified Master Chef is a rare occurrence, considering there are only 69 of them in the United States.
Imagine my excitement when I had the opportunity to sit down with Certified Master Chef James Corwell.
He is the inventor and founder of Tomato Sushi and Ocean Hugger Foods LLC. Currently, Chef Corwell serves as a managing partner for Blue Dot Foods, Farm2Plate and Sea-Change.
Committed to shaping the future of food, Chef Corwell frequently lectures on promoting food sustainability, cuisine, and strategies for feeding the global population.
Prominent publications such as the LA Times, New York Times, USA Today, Fortune and Epicurious have interviewed him for his expertise on these topics.
Additionally, Chef Corwell has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation and CNN Tech, and served as the keynote speaker for the United Nations-supported initiative, PRME, founded in 2007 to promote sustainable global management.
Chef Corwell, to start, could you briefly explain what it means to be a certified master chef?
In essence, we are culinary leaders dedicated to the craft of culinary arts.
Beyond that, as a leader, it is important to me to be not only the best that I can be in the field, but also to be a vanguard of the industry.
I see my role as helping ensure that the culinary industry serves as a model for healthfulness, as a feeder of the oncoming population, and as a believer in the absolute value of our natural resources.
It could be as simple as valuing a local organic carrot, a wild-caught turbot, or a beautiful authentic Xeres vinegar.
You describe yourself as always looking toward the future of food, food trends, and food sustainability. How do you see yourself contributing to those areas in the coming year?
That’s a tough question, but I absolutely aim to finish or move forward with what I’m doing currently.
I plan to continue speaking, investing, and developing new opportunities to advance plant-based offerings and enhance customized diet offerings.
As a certified master chef, you likely have a unique perspective on culinary innovation. How do you envision the evolution of plant-based cuisine, and what role do you think it will play in the broader culinary landscape?
To answer your question, it is important to first focus on the latter part of your question “broader culinary landscape.” Since the 1950s, America’s strength in industrial farming has hastened animal consumption.
Such vast production proved very beneficial during World War II and amplified the abundance of meat for all.
As meat and fish consumption has surpassed nature’s intent, industrialized farming has resulted in less respect for the life of the animal and personal nutrition.
Hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, microplastics, and industrial pollutants appear inescapable, only contributing to the prevalence of cancer, obesity, diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure.
Reaching epidemic proportions, the consequences of our actions jeopardize the world’s natural resources, risking billions of lives to malnutrition and starvation. Plant-based foods address each of these issues from now until way into the future.
I get the sense we have another two or three years of what I call the roaring 20s of meat and seafood consumption. Our social contract dictates that meat and fish should be abundant and cheap, but all that will change and eventually end.
People know the world is about to change as we learn more that fish stocks have dwindled and meat costs have risen from the effects of global warming and reduced water access.
The American dinner table will enter a new transition — one of greater meat reduction and plant-forward meals. The good news is, for richer or poorer, these are healthier diets.
Sustainability is a key aspect of the plant-based movement. How can chefs and culinary professionals contribute to more sustainable practices in the kitchen and the food industry as a whole?
That’s a tough question because there is no one clear answer. I defer to customized diets as the leading culinary/dietary trend chefs have to contend with in their facilities.
Being prepared for them is a normal affair. No longer can special requests relegate a customer to second-class status over personal needs. Lower sugar, no gluten, soy, wheat, and nut allergens can all contribute to healthier combinations of food.
Enticing customers is also very important. Enticements include highlighting local artisan-made products that exalt nature, offering insights into old food culture which are beckoning us more.
As for sustainability — there are a myriad ways to create sustainable options, such as using noodles, wraps, plant-based sushi, and any number of meat or seafood analogs for braises, stews, and even shawarma.
There are also blended items that are meat fortified with plant-based alternatives to reduce excessive meat consumption, increase nutrition, stabilize cost, and lower greenhouse gases GHG to meet institutional directives.
What are your personal hopes for the plant-based movement in the coming year, both in terms of culinary creativity and its impact on the environment and health?
First, greater awareness, conversation, and adaptation of the idea that the world is changing and diets are changing as well to meet health, costs and sustainability necessities.
Second, for people to fully comprehend that the social contract of cheap food from industrial farming is coming to an end. This is not the end of the world but just different, a historically more normal diet for humankind.
Last, I’ll keep my expectations at a cautiously optimistic level. I hope the plant-based popularity in the US would equal that of the EU.
While that would be amazing, I believe we are five years behind them. Also as much as I believe plant-based will save the world in the coming generations, the pain points that would come along with that premise are something I do not look forward to.
Still, I remain hopeful for what the new year will bring.
Learn more about Certified Master Chef James Corwell from his LinkedIn profile
