Lagardère Travel Retail hosts its second Internal Chef Community Seminar at Marché in Slovenia, showcasing culinary excellence and sustainability with UFS (UNILEVER) and Welbilt (ALI Group)

Lagardère Travel Retail hosted its second annual Internal Chef Community Seminar on December 3 and 4 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The event brought together 18 Chefs from across its global network for two days of workshops and forward-thinking discussions at shaping the future of travel dining.
This seminar was held in partnership with UFS (UNILEVER) and Welbilt (ALI Group), offering Chefs the opportunity to benefit from their expertise in ingredients and equipment, fostering the creation of innovative and contemporary recipes.

The event shined a spotlight on the often-overlooked role of Travel Retail Chefs, celebrating the diverse culinary expertise within the Company’s foodie community. It reaffirmed Lagardère Travel Retail’s commitment to delivering elevated culinary experiences and high-quality that align with the evolving expectations of today’s travelers.

Taking place in Slovenia – where the restaurant chain Marché, acquired in 2022 by Lagardère Travel Retail, is well implemented – the seminar focused on expanding menu offerings while improving quality, flavor, sustainability and variety of food served in travel hubs worldwide. These are core priorities in an industry where customer demand for greater value and variety is continuously growing. The Chef Community Seminar is the culmination of a year of quarterly calls and knowledge-sharing sessions, fostering a culture of collaboration among Chefs from diverse markets.

A key highlight was the discussion on sustainable culinary practices, where Chefs exchanged ideas and best practices for minimizing food waste as well as sourcing responsibly.

As part of the Responsible Offer Programme, Chefs were made aware of responsible selection criteria, which cover major sustainability issues in the food industry. This includes independent labels attesting to sustainable farming practices, fair trade or animal welfare-friendly practices, but also substitutes for animal products, and gluten free or lactose free options.

Lagardère Travel Retail pursues its commitment to purchase 100% eggs from cage-free hens for its internal brands by end of 2025 and encourage its European subsidiaries to follow the standards set by the European Chicken Commitment.

The Chefs explored ways to incorporate more plant-based options into menus responding to growing traveller demand and aligning with Lagardère Travel Retail’s CSR commitments. By introducing more plant-based recipes and responsibly sourced ingredients, the company is actively contributing to global carbon reduction efforts while offering travelers more sustainable dining options.  

Through hands-on workshops, participants explored advanced techniques such as the Light Kitchen approach, which optimizes resources and preparation processes to deliver premium taste and quality, even in challenging locations with limited space and technical constraints, such as the absence of extraction. This approach minimizes waste, ensures consistent flavour and freshness, and is adaptable to both small-scale or high-volume operations. The integration of Light Kitchen demonstrates how efficiency and sustainability can coexist while enhancing the travellers’ dining experience.

By leveraging technology, fostering collaboration, and prioritizing sustainability, Lagardère Travel Retail continues to set new benchmarks in travel dining.

ABOUT LAGARDERE TRAVEL RETAIL 
One of the two priority divisions of Lagardère group, Lagardère Travel Retail is a leading global Travel Retailer, with the longest standing expertise of serving the needs of travelers and partners across Travel Essentials, Duty Free & Fashion and Foodservice. Lagardère Travel Retail operates over 5,120 stores in airports, railway stations and other concessions in 42 countries, and has generated €6.6 bn in sales (100%) in 2023.
We harness our pioneering culture to make travel more enjoyable with bespoke offers and experiences. We invest our world-class global expertise and local knowledge to design value-creating partnerships and experiences for our stakeholders: landlords, brands, travelers, employees and communities.  ​ We actively champion the more sustainable future of Travel Retail through our comprehensive CSR strategy, covering all aspects of where we, as a business, have an impact and can make a difference. 
www.lagardere-tr.com ●  @LagardereTR