Fermentation, flavour and the future of food: Making sustainability delicious

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Words like “sustainability” and “healthy” shouldn’t take the joy out of eating. As elite chef Jaume Biarnés has been explaining to UN News, sustainable gastronomy can be delicious, exciting and fun.

At the Yondu Culinary Studio in Lower Manhattan, chef Jaume Biarnés demonstrates how to coax deep, savoury flavour from a handful of vegetables.

He believes that the centuries-old technique of Korean fermentation holds part of the answer to one of the most pressing questions of our time: how to feed a growing global population without exhausting the planet.

“Korea has the highest vegetable consumption in the world, and it’s because they use fermentation to make vegetables taste delicious,” he says. “If we want people to eat more vegetables and eat more sustainably, it’s got to be through pleasure and fun.”

Going green without going bust

For Mr. Biarnés, who used to work at the legendary El Bulli in Spain – voted the world’s best restaurant five times – sustainability is not a trend but a fundamental part of being a chef and running a kitchen.

In an industry where costs are high and margins are tight, any “green” initiative must make economic sense. “Sustainability is being able to secure the resources for the future so you can continue to be in operation,” explains Mr. Biarnés. “At a restaurant level, this means being economically sustainable. At a global level, as a species, it means the same thing.”

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Nevertheless, he insists that restaurants that were not built with sustainability in mind can do so if they take it one step at a time. 

Food-waste control, he notes, is already embedded in sound kitchen management. The harder challenge lies in sourcing local products: busy chefs often lack the time to seek out regional suppliers, and the dominant food-distribution networks do not prioritise proximity. 

“That’s what we have to fix to make it easy for chefs to access local products more easily and at a more competitive price.”

Policy, too, has a role. He points to Europe, where many single-use items are banned or restricted, contrasting the situation with the United States, where disposable plates and cups remain ubiquitous. “Policymakers have to help businesses move away from disposable materials,” he underscores. 

The modern relevance of an ancient technique

At the Yondu Culinary Studio, where Mr. Biarnés serves as Director, the focus is on Korean vegetable fermentation – a practice that predates refrigeration yet remains strikingly relevant in an era of climate-conscious cooking.

“Fermentation is a traditional technique to preserve products,” he explains. “Pickles, sauerkraut, cheese, beer…we have fermentation all over the world. It’s been used as a method of preserving food as well as a flavour-building technique.”

By extending shelf life, fermentation reduces waste. By intensifying taste, it makes plant-rich diets more appealing, a double benefit in a world where shifting toward vegetables is one of the most effective dietary changes individuals can make for the planet.

Love and sharing

A native of Catalonia now championing Korean culinary traditions in New York, Mr. Biarnés embodies the cross-cultural flow that defines contemporary gastronomy.

“We live in a time when ideas travel very fast, sometimes faster than ingredients,” he observes. “Chances are that you will see a recipe on TikTok or Instagram before you can actually find the ingredients.”

“A kitchen and a table are the way to understand each other,” he says. “There’s no better way to convey your own culture and the love for your country than sharing your dishes, your ingredients with other people.”

For those looking to apply these principles in their own kitchens, Mr. Biarnés offers straightforward guidance, echoing US-based author Michael Pollan: “Eat food, not too much, and mostly vegetables.”

Practical tips for your kitchen:

• Buy ingredients, not processed foods. Fresh ingredients tend to be more local, more flavourful, and have a lower carbon footprint.
• Check the origin. If a product travelled from the other side of the world, it is probably neither sustainable nor at peak flavour.
• Embrace seasonality. “Who wants to eat peaches in winter? They are tasteless,” he says. Visiting a local farmers’ market reveals what is ripe and ready.
• Plan to avoid waste. Know what you will cook before you shop, buy only what you need for the next few days, and use your freezer for meal prep.

Above all, Mr. Biarnés urges, enjoy the process. “The most important thing is the pleasure factor,” he says. “Vegetables are good for you because they give you pleasure. The vitamins and the fibre come later.”

Sustainable Gastronomy Day is observed on 18 June each year to recognise gastronomy as a cultural expression related to the natural and cultural diversity of the world.