“There is a lack of clear definition, but that is down to the nature of the word ‘sustainable’ as it can be looked at from so many different angles, particularly when talking about seafood,” says Burney, who runs a catering service that has zero waste as its core value.
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Certainly finding a common definition of the meaning of sustainability would help consumers understand it better. For example, why is it important? What is the impact of non-sustainable products? Why should I care?
There are so many ways in which sustainability can be defined – it can be defined in terms of fair trade; in terms of preventing damage to the immediate vicinity from fishing (for example, damage caused by bottom-trawling drag nets, or from the careless disposal of waste pollution from fish farms); in terms of preventing damage to the wider world (damage caused, for example, by plastic waste from discarded plastic fishing nets); and the sustainability of particular species (by preventing overfishing).
It means that at Burney’s behest, all the services he offers are performed without the use of plastic items such as cutlery, plates and straws. He first moved from the United Kingdom to Hong Kong in 2010 with his wife – “Laura always wanted to return to Hong Kong and I was happy for a new experience” – having completed four years of training at ski resorts in the French Alps. “I spent my days snowboarding and learning to cook,” he says.
“When I arrived in Hong Kong, I started working as a private chef cooking for visiting Hollywood celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue, Keanu Reeves, Chris Hemsworth, Jessie J, and also cooking at dinner party events for Hong Kong clients.
“With time my clients started asking me if I could help them with their office events as they struggled to find catering companies who really had the passion for good food and the knowledge to genuinely cater to their needs.”
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Something that sets Burney apart from other chefs is his willingness to play with different ingredients.
He attracted our attention with his “Vegan Vs” canape menu, which sees him pit the vegan option against the original version, for example, a Scotch egg and the vegan version, made from plant-based meat Omnipork and vegan cheese.
“As a chef I’m inquisitive about how ingredients work and how they can be used to best effect,” he says.
“With natural ingredients such as vegetables this means knowing the core flavour profile and textures which can be created via different cooking techniques and what ingredients pair well together.
“Once you have a good understanding of the weight of the flavour – is it loud like salted egg yolk, or quiet like cucumber? – and other characteristics, then you can start getting creative and thinking of new combinations that could be interesting or exciting.”
I grew curious and delved deeper into Burney’s ideas where both regular meat eaters and vegans can get together in a discussion about how the taste of a vegan version of something compares with the traditional dish.
“My venture into my vegan-focused cooking project was born out of a curiosity and a sense of challenge, as well as the need for society to eat in a more sustainable way,” Burney says.
“Continuing my learning journey as a chef means always exploring and finding out more about the basics of how vegetables, grains, pulses and all things can best be cooked for different palates.
“Chefs often are restricted by having to use meat, and never truly explore plant ingredients as they are always used as an accompaniment.
“Taking away the dairy and meat forces the chef to understand the remaining ingredients better, [which leads] to the challenge of creating interesting dishes, flavour combinations and textures without hiding behind meat.”
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He says when he needs to cheat, “alternative protein products such as Impossible, Beyond and Omnipork allow chefs to recreate meat dishes for people who want to cut down [their] meat consumption”.
As a vegan, I am not a great fan of these plant-based mock meats, but Burney says they help to further the cause of veganism.
“Yes – these are mainly aimed at meat eaters,” he says. “I feel that it is today’s meat-eaters who have the most power to change the world by cutting down and showing [others] that plant-based food can be just as flavoursome, healthy and interesting – or just as ‘junky’ and comforting – if that is what they are looking for.”
Video by Bridgette Hall
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