Join us for some locally sourced conversation at  The Bombay Canteen and stimulating conversation with our panel of experts: Thomas Zacharias, Executive Chef, The Bombay Canteen;  Varun Deshpande, Managing Director, Good Food Institute; Dr. Kurush Dalal: Professor, Archeology, University of Mumbai, Sara Roversi, Founder, Future Food Institute; Moderated by Anusha Murthy, researcher at the Food Innovation Program.

Schedule:

• What are the noticeable signals in the evolving indian food system?

• What is a pressing “edible” issue you are seeing?

• What is the role of institutions like the good food institute in sustainably feeding the population?

• What is the role of chefs in solving food system challenges?
• What is the role of tradition in innovations in our food future?

ABOUT FOOD IS A CONVERSATION

Organized by The Bombay Canteen, Future Food Institute and Edible Issues. This event is part of a series of public discussions about innovation in the food system featuring entrepreneurs, industry experts, policy advocates, and you. Learn something new, contribute to the conversation, and be a part of a growing community interested in the future of food

EDIBLE ISSUES: is a weekly newsletter ostarted by Anusha Murthy and Elizabeth Yorke, Researchers at the Food Innovation Program, to understand the Indian Food System.

ON THE PANEL

1. Thomas Zacharias: Chef, The Bombay Canteen.

Passionate about cooking right from the start, his culinary journey began at a very early age, inspired by his grandmother’s home cooking. Keen to take his passion further, Thomas enrolled as a chef at the Welcome Group Graduate School of Hotel Administration in Manipal. Here he learned the basics of cooking and the various techniques used in Indian cuisine. He worked for the Taj, Oberoi and ITC Hotel groups. So that he could understand the nuances of cooking better, in 2007 Thomas moved to the United States to study at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA). While he was studying there, he had the opportunity to meet some of the most famous names in the world of cooking, such as Ferran Adrià, the owner and chef at El Bulli. Working under Eric Ripert at the famous Le Bernardin restaurant in New York, with three Michelin stars, he gained invaluable experience. When he went back to India, he ran the kitchen at the Olive Bar and Kitchen in Bandra, Bombay, under another former CIA student, Manu Chandra. When he joined The Bombay Canteen as executive chef, he travelled all over the country to reinforce his knowledge of the different aspects of home cooking in various regions of India. The inspiration provided by the variety of flavours in India, the huge number of markets in Bombay and his grandmother’s cooking, which is where his passion came from, are all reflected in the ever-changing menu at The Bombay Canteen.

• Varun Deshpande: Managing Director, Good Food Institute, India

Varun is the Managing Director of Good Food Institute – India, a not for profit organisation, which aims to create a healthy, humane,  and sustainable food supply by working in the plant based and clean meat industry. He brings experience in healthcare, entrepreneurship, technology, venture capitalism. Varun is working on establishing an Effective Altruism Foundation in India.

• Dr. Kurush Dalal: Professor, Archeology, University of Mumbai

He marries his inherited passions digging for remains of the past in the present and dissecting the evolution of modern foods.   “Reconstructing Ancient Food Habits – An Archaeological Perspective”. As rare-themed as it was engaging, it essentially asked why we eat what we eat, and how these choices come to be made down the centuries.

• Sara Roversi:

Sara cofounded You Can Group “Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Growth” with her husband, Andrea Magelli, an entrepreneurial ecosystem that since 2014 has been fueling the creation of new startups mainly in the food and tech sectors as well as supporting business partners in innovation processes. Her recent philanthropic projects, Future Food Institute and the co-working space COB, focus on future scenarios of food and social innovation. She is a Professor of Entrepreneurship, and has been active since 2010 in Unindustria Bologna as President of “Tradeshow Marketing and Communications Section” in the Tertiary Sector. In 2012, Sara was honored with the Marisa Bellisario Award for Young Entrepreneurs as well as the Chamber of Commerce of Bologna Young Entrepreneurs Award. She has been a member of the delegation of the Young Entrepreneurs of Confindustria G20 YEA SUMMIT since 2013, and a member of the Advisory Board of the CLab funded by the Fondazione Banca del Monte e Cassa di Risparmio Faenza and YouthStartup.com since 2014 .

HOW TO ATTEND

Tickets available HERE