After a career in hotel management, where he witnessed food waste up close, Jean-François Archambault founded La Tablée des Chefs in Canada in 2004, to remedy this systemic problem. His idea: to unite food professionals such as hotels, restaurants, caterers and chef associations, and transform sporadic donations into an organized process, creating a movement of socially committed chefs. “I first dreamed of a world where everyone could eat their fill. I shared this dream with other bold people and succeeded in inspiring them.” Under his leadership, La Tablée des Chefs has transformed tons of food destined for landfill, feeding over two million people in the process. The chefs who join him share their passion for cooking and pass on their culinary knowledge to young people, helping them to become self-sufficient in terms of food and inspiring new vocations. Jean-François Archambault continues to expand his model internationally, particularly in France, seeking to extend the impact of his humanitarian and culinary work. “Cooking as an ingredient for social change, a winning, powerful and tasty recipe.” We’ll take his word for it.
Association
La Tablée des Chefs
Founded in Canada in 2002 by chef Jean-François Archambault, La Tablée des Chefs’ mission is to combat food insecurity and food waste, as well as to educate young people in the culinary arts. The association, which combines gastronomy and solidarity, has spread to Mexico and especially France, under the direction of Vincent Brassart and the patronage of chef Guillaume Gomez. Mobilizing chefs and professionals around committed and innovative initiatives, the association’s actions are divided into two parts:
- Feeding: Thanks to programs such as food recovery and Cuisines Solidaires, La Tablée mobilizes chefs and students from catering schools to prepare and distribute meals to food aid associations, helping to combat precariousness.
- Education: Les Brigades Culinaires and Cuisine Ton Avenir (Cook your future) are workshops for young people aged 11 to 18, led by chefs, to learn how to cook healthily and economically. The aim is to educate future generations, some of whom are experiencing social difficulties, about healthy, sustainable eating and to help them achieve self-sufficiency in food.
