Grundig’s successful partnership with Refettorio Gastromotiva

8th August 2016

We at Grundig champion the cause of reducing the world’s alarming levels of food waste. On average, almost 1.3 billion tonnes of edible food is wasted every year, so our ‘Respect Food’ philosophy is a simple one; we believe people should get the most out of their food, and waste less of it. It’s this strong focus on sustainability that drives us to lead the way in designing innovative products that keep your food fresher for longer, whilst eating up less energy so you can eat more.

It was no surprise that our philosophy went hand-in-hand with that of Massimo Bottura’s non-profit Food for Soul initiative, resulting in the perfect partnership to raise awareness of global food waste and inspiring everyone to combat it, starting from our very own kitchens.

The Refettorio Gastromotiva launched last August during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, forming an important part of the Rio 2016 Olympic Committee’s Sustainable Food Initiative. Bottura’s Food For Soul initiative worked in collaboration with David Hertz’s Gastromotiva; which works to give food to disadvantaged people. We made sure to equip them with state-of-the-art Grundig products to offer nothing short of the best in making sure their food lasted for as long as possible: and then some.

The Unique Soup Kitchen project was made a reality both by the designers who built it, and the leading international chefs who drove it. Award-winning Brazilian creatives such as Vik Muniz, the Campana Brothers, and Maneco Quinderé pooled their talent and offered their voluntary commitment for both the interior and furniture design, whilst the building project was managed by Metro Architecture.

The chefs’ meals were packed with nutrition and flavour and were produced from surplus food recovered from the Olympic village. Nearly 14 million meals were consumed between athletes from 205 different countries around the world, which left plenty of waste. Refettorio Gastromotiva nonetheless made good use of over 12 tonnes of recovered food to produce 120 meals a day, that’s 19,000 meals in total!

The ‘Refettorio Gastramotiva’ was a bustling and exciting hub for projects aiming to shine the spotlight on food as a solution for social issues; refreshing the body and the mind. A broad host of community workshops were out in full force, giving families, cooks, and school managers with information on nutrition and healthy eating as well as tips on stretching the use of their food to its fullest.

Hakan Bulgurlu, CEO of Grundig.