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Op-Doc

‘A Sustainable Chef’

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A Sustainable Chef

This short documentary explains why one world-class chef overhauled his menu to emphasize sustainable ingredients.

NYT_OP-DOC_042115 042115 Time Code Speaker Dialogue 00:00:00 (birds chirping) 00:00:09 Ben Shewry I remember seeing my father take a rifle and put it to the head of an animal to kill it for our dinner. Its kind of terrifying as a kid but you’re never in any doubt where.. 00:00:22 Title Card “Ben Shewry: Chef, Attica” 00:00:22 Ben Shewry ...food comes from in a connection of it. Part of wanting to run a restaurant like Attica is wanting to reconnect people with it as well. 00:00:34 Title Card “Attica: Award-Winning Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia” 00:00:37 (kitchen sounds) 00:00:39 Ben Shewry 5 potato, 4 egg please Ginny. People might not think that cooks matter in the greater scheme of things but in my experience a lot of stuff flows down from the top. It’s probably uh I have 200,000 downloads of the menu on our website. Now there’s nowhere near that amount of people coming here and so that tells me that people are not just looking at our menu cuz they’re thinking about planning a dinner here, they’re looking at our menu for inspiration whether that be in their restaurant or that be at home. This small piece of literature with these eight courses on it has massive influence on people therefor if i had ingredients which were unsustainable and which were of negative impact to the environment then I’m contributing to that damage and I don’t want that on my conscience. 00:01:34 (Ocean sounds) 00:01:38 Ben Shewry In the 11-12 years that i’ve been cooking in Australia, the spaces of fish that were available to us very readily and very easily are not as easy to get anymore. The best grouper fish that I love to cook their reproductive cycle doesn’t begin until later into their life but most of the fish being taken are juvenile because the juveniles sit closer to the surface and are easier to catch. They’re being fished close to the point of commercial extinction. That led me to I guess a moment of reflection probably five years ago, instead of continuing to serve the fish that I had always served, I decided to take them all of the menu. I always look for suppliers who have a similar passion to me and a dedication to ethics. So when I met lance wiffin I sensed some of myself in him. 00:02:37 Title Card “Lance Wiffen: Sea Bounty Mussles” :00:02:37 Ben Shewry He believes that its never good enough he thinks it can get better and it can get better and of course I feel that same way about my own work. I thought I knew all about mussels I didn’t really know that there was going to be like a whole other level of mussels. The blue mussels that are grown in Port Philip Bay where Lance farms they were like nothing i’d ever eaten before. It was like the essence of the sea captured in one tiny morsel. Mussels we can grow in a very sustainable matter and take up a lot of space they have almost nil, negative impact on the environment. It’s half the price of chicken and infinitely better for you and infinitely more sustainable. Its really great to be able to promote a great, ethical sustainable ingredient and tell people that this is something that you should consider eating. 00:03:34 Title Card “Lance’s Mussels” 00:03:40 Ben Shewry I’d been thinking for a couple of weeks about the difference between a fish that’s a better choice and a fish that’s a bad choice. King George whiting for quarter inlet is a small, fast growing fish. You’re far better off to eat a fish which reproduces very early in it’s life and is a short-lifed fish anyway. It’s the first fish dish I did after having fin fish off the menu completely for two years.The responsibility of a cook is to set a really good example, that food is not an infinite resource. If you’re cooking well you’ll always take in to account nature so in some ways through cooking i’ve found my ideal connection to nature. 00:04:30 “Credits” 00:04:00 End of Video

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This short documentary explains why one world-class chef overhauled his menu to emphasize sustainable ingredients.

When it comes to sustainability, the world of fine dining has never been better. As the chefs behind the most innovative restaurants discover their increasing societal influence, we’re witnessing the rise of a new kind of cook — one devoted to his or her craft, wielding masterly knife skills and a deft palate, as well as a social conscience.

In making a documentary series about the world’s great chefs for Netflix, I discovered that many of these culinary trailblazers were determined not to confine their influence to their recipes. Around the world, they are using their restaurants to push for sustainability, and for social change.

This Op-Doc video focuses on one of them: Ben Shewry, whose restaurant Attica, in Melbourne, Australia, is perennially regarded among the best in the world. Mr. Shewry, who developed his love for nature while growing up on a farm in New Zealand, has made his menu into an example of how sustainable ingredients can be made absolutely delicious. This Earth Day, I wanted to highlight the work that he and so many other forward-thinking chefs around the world are doing to ensure that the food sources we enjoy now will still be here in years to come.

Mr. Shewry is deeply aware of the stress overfishing poses to our oceans. I find his willingness to fundamentally alter the way he cooks, and to position his restaurant at the vanguard of sustainability, an inspirational and vital lesson. With a bit of effort, we can all use our creativity to protect the world around us, satisfy our appetites and forge a better tomorrow.

Brian McGinn is one of the directors and executive producers of the Netflix documentary series “Chef’s Table,” created by David Gelb. His other credits include “The Record Breaker,” about the Guinness World Record holder Ashrita Furman, as well as a forthcoming HBO special starring Will Ferrell.

Op-Docs is a forum for short, opinionated documentaries, produced with creative latitude by independent filmmakers and artists. Learn more about Op-Docs and how to submit to the series.

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