The paradoxes in chefs' representations of the trade-off between tradition and sustainability

Introduction: Environmental issues in the food systems of Western countries require a reduction in the consumption of meat in diets (Willett et al., 2019). In the restaurant sector, chefs have a role to play in addressing the challenges of environmental sustainability by reducing the amount of meat on the menu (Gössling and Hall, 2021). However, this role may be exposed to paradoxes, linked to the cultural and gustatory attributes associated with meat, particularly in France, where meat has a structuring role in food and culinary practices (Lamy et al. 2023). Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the impact of sustainability issues on the profession of chef and its changes, by looking at how chefs manage the inherent conflicts between the importance of meat in culinary culture on the one hand, and the need to reduce the amount of meat on menus on the other. This research relies on paradox theory (Waldman et al. 2019), to identify the main paradoxical tensions that chefs face, and how chefs regulate and manage these tensions. Method: A qualitative methodology was used, based on a corpus of semi-structured interviews. 29 chefs from the French restaurant sector were interviewed in 2022. The interview guide was designed to analyze the chefs' perceptions of traditional French cuisine, sustainable cuisine and their relationship with meat. A thematic analysis was conducted on the corpus of interviews. Results: The study of the chefs' representations of traditional cuisine shows that they associate it intrinsically with cooking with meat, as it is associated with a set of recipes and techniques. An analysis of the chefs' representations of sustainable cuisine shows that they do not see reducing the amount of meat in their menus as a possible initiative, unlike other initiatives linked to sourcing (selecting seasonal, fresh, locally sourced products, etc.) or preparation (limiting losses and waste). During the interviews, 16 chefs spontaneously discussed a specific culinary practice, the preparation of sauces, which illustrates the paradoxical tensions between the tradition of the profession, the challenges of sustainability, and the organizational and practical issues inherent in changes in the profession. The preparation of sauce bases is perceived as both a traditional and sustainable practice by chefs: Traditional in reference to an established know-how respected by chefs; Sustainable, because it allows meat losses to be reused to make sauce bases. However, this practice is under threat from the use of ready-to-use sauce bases, in the interests of rationalization and practicality. Furthermore, this recent use tends to reduce the value of the work done by chefs, whereas traditional practices are valued, especially as they are in line with sustainability. Conclusions: This study provides a better understanding of the cultural and organisational limits faced by chefs and enables us to take these limits into consideration to better guide chefs towards more sustainable practices within their restaurants.