The FoodTuristic project addresses the lack of green technology curriculum in European culinary and hospitality schools, which have traditionally focused more on gastronomy and hospitality management skills. It is funded via the Erasmus Key Action 2 framework, with the project running from November 2023 – November 2025.
The project aims to develop digital resources for both educators and students in hotel and culinary schools across four partner countries to reduce food waste, develop circular economy skills, and localise food production. The project consortium is made up of vocational and higher education institutions across Europe, including the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (Ireland), Munster Technological University (Ireland), Lycée Hotelier de Dinard (France), the Institute of Tourism Studies (Malta) and the Vocational College of Hospitality and Tourism Maribor (Slovenia).
The FoodTuristic team is developing a Vocational Education and Training (VET) course delivered as a digital badge, a website, a mobile application, and a good practice guide, to address the green skills gap in European culinary and hospitality schools. The project will reduce food waste, utilise food waste in novel technology enhanced composting systems, and adopt new green technologies to grow appropriate foods onsite. The skills developed by project output users will have strong legacy potential and reduce the carbon impact of schools and industry.
Our project goals are:
- To educate culinary and hotel schools about how food waste can be reduced with improved use of technology;
- To educate culinary and hotel schools about how technological improvements can support campus food growing and food miles reduction;
- To improve circularity of food waste in hotel schools by learning and teaching about technologies such as composting, gas harvesting and added value products.