Chef Peter Brass - Q&A

Oct. 14, 2024
5 mins

At Sodexo, we believe that good food must be 3 things – sustainable, beautiful and delicious! ‘Cook for Change! Sustainable Chef Challenge’ is our global challenge for our hundreds of chefs around the world, challenging them to create mouthwatering dishes that incorporate sustainably sourced ingredients and clever food waste solutions.

Let’s make some noise for our very own Peter Brass! 🥳 Our top 2 Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa regional finalist in this year’s competition. 🥈Peter represented Sodexo Australia with his recipe for Vegan Gnocchi with Beetroot Pesto and Vegetable Crisps. Sounds incredible!

1. What do you love most about being a chef?

To be a chef you have to love the job, it takes a certain type of person to work in a kitchen. I love the comradery of the kitchen, the rush of a busy service, the feeling you get when a protein is perfectly cooked and seeing the satisfaction on the customers face. Being a chef has driven me to achieve things I didn’t know I could, the people I have met, the places I have worked, the dishes I have produced. Being a chef has brought me halfway across the world to work. This isn’t just a job to me it’s part of who I am.

2. What is one quality you consider to be very important in becoming a successful chef and why?

I believe the ability to adapt and think on your feet are important qualities in being a successful chef. The catering space can change by the second and you have to be able to change with them.

3. By participating in Sodexo’s ‘Cook For Change! The Sustainable Chef Challenge’ competition and pushing yourself to use sustainable ingredients, what is one element of your dish that you are most proud of?

The element of my dish that I am most proud of is the gnocchi. Creating them in two different ways really elevates the dish and gives different flavors and textures. I love the gnocchi as it makes you think about plant-based foods. This is a dish I’ve made before with eggs, cheese and butter, however, believe this competition allowed me to challenge myself and look at food for the ingredient not the ingredients.

4. Describe your personal cooking style in 3 words.

Creative, influential, funny

5.Finally, if you could encourage everyone to eat one sustainable ingredient more often, what would be it by and why?

I think after being part of this challenge and researching the whys my advice would be stop and think. Every year demand for non-sustainable food increases, thus causing food shortages like eggs and meat. The more animal based products and the increase in C02 levels damage the planet and we have seen increases in our changing climate for example flooding and other natural disasters. As chefs I believe it is our job and our duty to lead this by looking at a simple ingredient and using to its full potential like a chick pea- so many different uses and dishes not to mention flour and aqua faba (egg substitute). While undertaking this challenge, I was amazed at how versatile one vegetable one grain or even one pea can be, a re-education into what we can achieve is definitely in order. I certainly have done mine and I was mind blown and re-energized into plant based protentional (potential) 😊

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