GreenChef Bulgaria: Inspiring Young Learners to Cook Sustainably

We have completed the pilot phase of GreenChef – Sustainable Culinary Education through Gamification and Low-Carbon Food Choices, an Erasmus+ project aimed at teaching young people how their food choices impact the planet. More than 200 children, students, and teachers joined activities in Sofia and Veliko Tarnovo, exploring sustainability through cooking, teamwork, and game-based learning.

Our team led three learning formats:

Kids Summer Academy: playful, hands-on sessions using the GreenChef board game and simple low-carbon cooking tasks.

VET and Secondary School Workshops: deeper discussions on sustainable food systems, teamwork, and culinary responsibility.

Pilot School Sessions: interactive lessons hosted in partner schools.

All activities were facilitated by HRC trainers and led by certified Sustainability Educator Chef Viktorija Baltutyte-Bacheva.

Gamification proved to be one of the strongest elements of the program. Kids enjoyed the visual and practical tasks, while older students appreciated connecting sustainability with real culinary practice. Teachers also pointed out how inclusive and motivating this format was.

Across all groups, participants showed a clear increase in understanding concepts such as food sustainability, low-carbon diets, and food waste reduction. Many shared that they started thinking more about where food comes from, how to reduce waste, and how cooking choices affect the environment. Several even discussed their new knowledge with family and friends, showing early signs of real behavioural change.

Learners also valued the teamwork aspect, saying the challenges made difficult topics easier to understand and more enjoyable to explore.

The GreenChef approach supports the European GreenComp framework and aligns with the growing need for sustainable culinary education. By linking cooking with environmental awareness, we help young people build practical and responsible habits that they can use throughout their lives.

Following the positive results, we plan to:

• Еxtend the model to more VET schools and training centres
• Offer short train-the-trainer modules for educators.
• Integrate sustainability and gamified learning into school programs and extracurricular clubs.
• Continue monitoring the long-term impact and share best practices with partners.

The pilot shows that sustainable cooking can be engaging, creative, and highly effective when supported by interactive tools. We are excited to continue growing the GreenChef initiative and inspire more young people to choose low-carbon, environmentally responsible food habits.