Planet To Plate: The Earth Hour Cookbook has been released in the lead up to Earth Hour on 28 March 2015 and features a collection of 52 recipes from some of Australia’s biggest names in food. The City Lane was invited to attend the launch at Guy Grossi’s Ombra Salumi Bar and, having a keen interest in the conservation and sustainability issues surrounding food, we were keen to learn more about Planet To Plate.
Read through Planet To Plate and you’ll find yourself learning a lot more than just how to cook some great dishes. What makes Planet To Plate unique is that there is a big focus on Australian farmers and the impact of global warming on their farms and the availability of fresh, locally produced food. Featured ingredients for several of the recipes are focused on, and the effect of global warming on production of those ingredients explored.
For those who see climate change as an abstract topic that’s covered on the news sometimes, Planet To Plate really brings home the reality of its impact on people by linking it to something we are all familiar with – the food we eat.
Speakers on the night included acclaimed Melbourne chef Guy Grossi, WWF Australia CEO Dermot O’Gorman, climate scientist David Karoly from The University of Melbourne and Masterchef Australia 2013 winner Emma Dean. Each had some great insights of relevance to the topic of food, agriculture and climate change.
Chefs whose recipes appear in Planet To Plate include Matt Preston, Neil Perry, Luke Mangan, Kylie Kwong, Guy Grossi, Darren Robertson, Colin Fassnidge, James Viles, Jill Dupleix, Miguel Maestre, Margaret Fulton, Dan Hong and Sarah Wilson just to name a few. It really does feature a whose who of Australia’s culinary talent and the recipes in the book focus on seasonal, fresh produce covering starters, mains and desserts.
If you were wondering what we ate at the launch, we were kept suitably fed with a range of antipasto dishes from the Ombra kitchen.
Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007 to raise awareness of the effects of climate change, with over 2,200 businesses and over 2 million people taking part. In 2015, it will be held in over 7,000 cities in 162 countries, with approximately 1.5 billion people expected to take part. The City Lane thinks that Earth Hour is a great initiative and we wholly support its growth both as an event, and into other avenues such as Planet To Plate. If you’re interested in learning more about the effect of climate change on the food that you eat, Planet To Plate is well worth your time.
If you’re interested in getting a copy (RRP $49.99 (inclusive of shipping)), check out the official website here. Earth Hour is a not-for-profit organisation and all proceeds from the sale of Planet To Plate go towards supporting Earth Hour’s work with schools, small business and community groups.