Growing up I told my parents I always wanted to be a medical doctor. It was one of those childhood dreams I held onto so much. I fantasized on my dream so much that my classmates called me “Doc” at primary 6 because I was so brilliant. But just as the Good book says “Our ways are not the ways of the Lord.”Destiny had a different plan for me. I lost my mummy and daddy due to the negligence of the very profession that I so much desired of and it was that one single event that change my direction in life to be what I found myself doing ‘’the doctor in the kitchen” A Chef.
I enjoy been a chef and I love food and the science of creating and improving on recipes from different parts of the world. For the past 6years of my career, I have had the opportunity to cook for great men and women across the world but one thing I realized was that, no matter how delicious the food I cooked was, there will always be a leftover. What becomes of the leftovers mostly, its thrown in the trash bins.
One day, I met this mentally challenged man within the city of Accra going round with black plastic bags distributing food to his colleague mentally challenged on the streets. This man’s activities draw my interest so much that I had to follow him for two months. I realized this mentally challenged man every morning goes to food vendors on the street with plastic bags so that when someone buys food and then the leftovers are gathered for him. Later in the day he goes back to pick the leftovers and distribute it to his colleague mentally challenged and he has been doing this for many years.
As a chef, I asked myself why can’t I help in reducing food wastage and hunger in Ghana by talking about it, by recovering food to feed the mentally challenged,aged,street kids and vulnerable in society. This brought about the formation of Chefs for Change Ghana Foundation, for the past three years we have been creating sustainable means of nutrition for the less privileged in Ghana by food recovery. Under our feast of hope project we have fed over 30,000 less privileged and educated millions of Ghanaians on three consecutive UN World food days. Last year under our Food for All Ghana Campaign we planned to build West Africa’s first food recovery bank in Ghana and set a world record in 2015 by laying the longest charity dinner table in the world to feed over eight thousand less privileged in a night.
Looking at the economic, social and environmental impact of food wastage, there is the need for all Ghanaians to come together to help reduce the inefficiencies in our food supply system to reduce food wastage and hunger in Ghana. Why don’t you join the mad man’s idea of reducing food wastage in Ghana to feed those that need it. This is how the mad man made me realize my passion of recovering food to feed those that needs it. Am very proud of what I now do and Hope you will be too. Join us to reduce food wastage and hunger in Africa. Food for All Ghana Campaign……..A shared social responsibility.
