High School students imagine the food of the future and create innovative meals

Around 600 secondary school students from the north and south of the country (including Madeira and the Azores) took part in a competition promoted by the Faculty of Biotechnology of the Porto Regional Centre.

The challenge was to create dishes that responded to three major challenges: nutrition, economy and environmental sustainability. Among the award winners were Escondidinho de Grilo and Sorbet of Cauliflower on Quinoa Crepes.

Between wars, climate change and the growing human population, the basic right to food is not guaranteed. More than 800 million people (twice the size of the European Union) go hungry every day and the numbers are constantly rising. To create a future different from the present, food will have to combine three major priorities: high nutritional value, low economic cost and a reduced ecological footprint. And this is a change of perspective that requires new perspectives on food: precisely the premise behind the competition that is now announcing its winners.

Paula Castro, director of the Faculty of Biotechnology points out "we created this challenge to ask what is the best way to feed ourselves. There is truly no right to eat when food is nutritionally poor, too expensive - resulting in malnutrition - or degrades the environment, compromising the right of future generations to feed themselves. There is an invisible web of implications in every food choice and we urgently need to find sustainable answers." The director further adds "we were delighted to realise that there are so many secondary schools aligned with our concerns and so many savvy young people contributing to the solutions."

In each category - starter, main course and dessert - the best entries were chosen by a two-stage screening. In the first a jury composed of four nutrition experts selected the 30 finalist recipes. Then another jury of five different elements, experts in environment, food transition and sustainability, chose the award winners. This method maximises the credibility of the selection process. Each 1st place winner receives €100, 2nd place winners receive €60 and 3rd place winners receive €40 each, in addition to diplomas. The winning entries are presented below. Photos and detailed recipes are available for all of them.

ENTRIES (the jury decided to award only 2 prizes, as it considered that three projects deserved to be in 2nd place)

MAIN MEALS

DESSERTS