By: Marisa Sanchez
In the culinary landscape, luxury, gourmet, and healthy often exist in separate spheres. Luxury dining might conjure images of rich sauces, decadent desserts, and hefty price tags, often at odds with healthy eating principles. Gourmet cuisine can be synonymous with intricate presentations and rare ingredients, seldom prioritizing well-balanced nutrition. However, there’s a growing movement to bridge this gap.
Dhana Bunel: Leading the Charge in Sustainable Gourmet Cuisine
CEO of Chez Graze, Dhana Bunel is among those leading the charge in encouraging people to eat healthy without sacrificing flavor. Beyond that, she’s also taking the necessary steps to ensure that her company has a holistic and eco-friendly approach that teaches people to uplift one another and value the world they live in.
Dhana promises that, as a caterer for companies and particular events, Chez Graze is unlike any other in the industry. It has three main objectives: prioritizing a healthy balance in its food, preserving the environment by lessening activities that lead to waste, and empowering a community by providing livelihoods.
The advantages of sustainable cuisine extend far beyond the dining table. By focusing on locally sourced and organic ingredients, sustainable catering reduces the carbon footprint associated with food transportation and promotes local agriculture. This approach not only supports the local economy but also ensures fresher, healthier food options. Furthermore, minimizing waste through sustainable practices helps protect natural resources and reduces the environmental impact of events. As consumers become more eco-conscious, the demand for sustainable cuisine is rising, making it a key differentiator for businesses like Chez Graze. By embracing these principles, Dhana Bunel is not only enhancing the dining experience but also contributing to a more sustainable future.
Practicing Sustainable Eating at Home
Sustainable eating is not just a trend but a necessary shift towards preserving our environment and promoting better health. Dhana shares some practical tips for readers who want to incorporate sustainable eating habits into their daily lives:
- Choose Local and Seasonal Produce: Support local farmers by purchasing seasonal fruits and vegetables. This reduces the carbon footprint associated with transporting food over long distances and ensures you consume fresher, more nutritious produce.
- Reduce Food Waste: Plan your meals and buy only what you need. Store food properly and use leftovers creatively to minimize waste. Composting organic waste is also a great way to recycle nutrients back into the soil.
- Opt for Organic and Fair-Trade Products: Organic farming practices avoid synthetic chemicals, promoting soil health and biodiversity. Fair-trade products ensure that farmers receive fair wages and work under safe conditions.
- Grow Your Own Food: Even if you have a small space, growing herbs, vegetables, and fruits can be rewarding and sustainable. It reduces the need for transportation and packaging and gives you control over the growing process.
- Avoid Single-Use Plastics: “The first step to sustainability,” Dhana shares, “is to reduce items such as cutleries or packaging that typically gets thrown away after one use. Then, you can begin reusing what items are available in your household.” Use reusable bags, containers, and utensils to reduce plastic waste. “Choose products with minimal or eco-friendly packaging whenever possible.”
Working with Prominent Clients
Nowadays, Chez Graze is already working with a significant group, which Dhana can’t disclose yet. However, it’s also working with many other companies and businesses like Iris Optic, REMAX, BNP Paribas, Naturacoeur, and Maptitetchemise, among other brands, to take care of their corporate and private events.
Prioritizing a Healthy Balance in Food
“At Chez Graze, we are particularly proud to say that our tables and boards are as beautiful and tasty as any gourmet food could be. All this dimension on keeping our goal to serve healthy food is a priority,” the CEO said.
The brand creates charcuterie boards and tables for various events while emphasizing fruits and vegetables as the stars of the platter. Despite this healthy take, Chez Graze offers other charcuterie options like cheeses, edible flowers, bread, and unique accompanying sauces.
Dhana shared that she created Chez Graze with the gastronomic “French touch” because eating healthy yet delicious food can benefit the body and mind, impacting one’s overall health.
As she continues leading her company forward, Dhana plans to create new proposals that will add more healthy and delectable options to their menu.
Preserving the Environment
Chez Graze goes beyond being a luxury gourmet catering service. With Dhana at the helm, she ensures that it’s environmentally conscious to assist in the bid for sustainability and promote a similar approach among its clients.
Dhana secures her company’s contribution to environmental preservation by creating meaningful partnerships with the appropriate stakeholders who share a similar vision. First, there are local producers like organic farmers to lessen the impact on the carbon footprint and promote the local economy, companies that produce eco-friendly alternatives such as reusable plastics or gas-free vehicles, and local government units that share a similar eco-friendly vision.
Empowering Communities through Livelihood
Besides being the CEO of Chez Graze, Dhana is also an influencer who encourages her community of women and mothers to embrace their uniqueness and be brave enough to take chances that could help them become financially independent.
Dhana supports them in the latter by providing livelihoods for them in Chez Graze. She knows how society can judge and expect women, especially mothers, to be present for their kids while maintaining a career. With her and her company, Dhana promises that women can achieve whatever they set their sights on.
She believes it’s never too late for women to start a career or assume a secondary role, especially if they can prove themselves capable in a male-dominated industry like the culinary landscape.
“I am putting the first stones for something that can build new foundations in this deceptive economics and help mothers and entire families to become financially independent with Chez Graze,” Dhana concluded.
MUA: Fabien Paquet
Hair: So Sonee
Published By: Aize Perez
