St George’s University, London
May 15, 2025

City St George’s Food Policy Symposium

City St George’s Food Policy Symposium May 15, 2025 10:30 am

Overview
Professional cookery – the missing ingredient for food systems transformation

Our current food systems are heavily commodified and cause many problems including environmental degradation, household food insecurity, diet-related illnesses, inequalities and excessive food waste. The food sector in the UK employs more than 13% of the country’s workforce, illustrating our reliance on an army of workers from farmers and fishermen through to food technicians and chefs to keep us nourished. Yet the sector is facing record staff shortages, leaving our food systems even more vulnerable to unexpected shocks and long-term problems.

Professional cooks or chefs are vital food systems actors, responsible for feeding people across schools, hospitals, care homes and prisons, and in restaurants, cafes and takeaways. They also manufacture and design our everyday foods. But professional cooks are undervalued and have been overlooked by policymakers and others as key players in food systems transformation.

There is a distinct lack of clarity in the variety of career pathways for professional cooks across public food service and food manufacturing as well as hospitality. Cookery careers receive a low profile in school curriculums and by careers advisers further hindering future workforce capacity. Current professional cookery curriculum requirements cover the essential topics of food safety and hygiene, menu planning and managerial skills. But they are also well placed to incorporate food systems subject areas such as nutrition, environmental sustainability, supply chain disruptions, and food waste. Leveraging this opportunity could broaden the skills of a significant number of actors in our everyday settings to address systemic food system problems, increase capabilities to manage food supply shocks by being agile with ingredients and reorientate our society to value freshly cooked, healthy, sustainable meals and snacks.

The 2025 City St George’s Food Policy Symposium will invite collective debate on this novel food systems topic and explore how professional cookery can be prioritised and reimagined through food policy. We will identify the practical needs and policy opportunities for a food systems approach to professional cookery and consider terminology. Discussions and workshops will reflect on how professional cookery pathways can be integrated with existing and future food policies to meaningfully contribute to a culture which values professional cooks as respected societal roles alongside farmers, doctors, nurses and teachers.

During this event we will:

  • Examine the existing patchwork of professional cookery pathways in the UK
  • Identify opportunities for policymakers to streamline professional cookery pathways and integrate food systems-based curriculum which moves beyond food safety and food preparation
  • Understand the public and private sector needs and opportunities for food systems-based professional cookery, including leveraging the apprenticeship levy and incoming local procurement policy
  • Share best practice examples of food systems-based professional cookery approaches and courses from within and beyond the UK
  • Harness the momentum for the knowledge and skills of professional cookery to be valued in our society and reimagined to prioritise human and planetary health and foster local and regional economic benefits

The City St George’s Food Policy Symposium is hosted by the Centre for Food Policy and is generously supported by the Worshipful Company of Cooks.

Location
St George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, UK
City St George’s Food Policy Symposium
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