Famed chefs Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca joined the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDG Fund) to tackle UN climate change from a different perspective: sustainable cooking.

Since October, the Roca brothers have offered cooking challenges that invite social media users on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to submit sustainable recipes with the hashtag #Recipe4Change, with the last challenge taking place in December.

The Roca brothers selected one winning recipe for each of the challenges and at the end of the competition, will recognize a global winner among all of the recipes received. The winner will spend a day with the chefs in their celebrated restaurant El Celler de Can Roca in Spain.

Along with monthly sustainable food challenges, the Roca brothers shared regular tips and techniques to reduce the impact of cooking on the environment. They offered the best practices and ideas designed to mitigate UN climate change, as well as cooking methods that reduce energy consumption and water usage, and enhance food preservation.

Director of the SDG Fund Paloma Duran said the challenges of food security are complex and require more integrated approaches to mitigate the effects of our changing climate.

“With one of five people still lacking access to electricity and more than 1.8 billion without clean water, we must rethink how we prepare, store and transport food. The Roca brothers serve as important champions for our ongoing work on this vital issue,” Paloma said.

“Tackling climate change and achieving sustainable development goals should be a collective effort that involves governments, business, international organisations, but also citizens who can everyday make small but meaningful decisions in how they cook and what they eat.”

How the competition worked:

1. For the months of October through December, the Roca Brothers used the SDG Fund social media accounts to launch their unique sustainable cooking challenge, requiring participants to come up with an innovative recipe idea.

2. Participants prepared a recipe that offers a unique approach to food preparation. These were shared via a simple write-up, video or with photos.

3. People who uploaded recipes commented on the SDG Fund’s social media accounts to promote their entries and why they think they should win. For each entry received, Ebro Foods made a donation to SDG Fund’s nutrition and food projects.

4. Word was spread as part of the #Recipe4Change social media wall. The SDG Fund and Roca Brothers curated a selection of the most creative and innovative recipes and will build a special social media site to showcase all recipes entered.