Sixteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

This study on food supply chain addresses the way upper scale chefs from Rio de Janeiro can influence and encourage conscious consumption of food, thus changing the way food is perceived and consumed and the relationships between the end user and producer. Design thinking is adopted as a methodological framework to develop a solution (service concept) that improves the farm-to-table stream on Rio de Janeiro, the consumer awareness and local farming chains. The methodology required an immersive and empathetic process in the issue under analysis which was empowered in this study by the personal experience of the first author, which has over ten years experience as a restaurant chef de cuisine. The study presents the obstacles faced by a chef to work with small scale agriculture. It suggests actions to surpass this hindrance by designing a service for chefs that relies on a network of small scale farmers to overcome the difficulties to interact with this kind of provider and to allow informed consumption.