Mother Earth, Koppert Cress

Mother Earth

What started as an homage to nature, while acknowledging our responsibility as food producers and food processors, is now the principle by which we eat, feed and grow food. We want to inspire you with the lessons we’ve learned from this Principle.

Healthy diet

Food is the inseparable link between human health and environmental sustainability. We have to create a local food system that operates between the boundaries of human health, reliable food production and what the earth can provide. Only healthy diets from sustainable food systems will effectively and positively feed nearly 10 billion people by 2050. The Mother Earth Principle just happens to be such a healthy diet based on a sustainable food system.

Three layers

The Mother Earth Principle means every food creation is built up out of at least three layers of goodness: Soil, Earth and Surface. The first layer, Soil, consists of vegetables that grow in the ground. Potatoes, asparagus, beetroot, you name it. The second layer, Earth, is made up of edible “earth”. Think of tomato bread, pumpernickel earth or charcoal cranberry, added with different kinds of seeds and nuts. Finally, the top of the dish, the Surface, symbolizes everything that grows on fertile lands: fruits, vegetables, cress and flowers. Three layers, endless possibilities.

Unlimited variations

The Mother Earth Principle is inspired by Dutch Cuisine, using the 80/20-principle of eighty percent (locally grown) vegetables and twenty percent meat. But Mother Earth is a concept that can be implemented worldwide. If you’re a chef in Sweden, you’ll probably make an entirely different dish than that of a chef in Spain. And chances are a French chef will create completely different dishes in the spring than in the autumn, while using the exact same culinary Principle. This is the greatest advantage of the Mother Earth Principle: a less impactful yet more creative way of cooking by using the variations that seasonal and local products generate naturally. Three layers, more sustainability.

Mother Earth needs your creativity

These dishes can be served sweet or salty, as a starter or as a main course, in a glass or a bowl, on a plate or on a spoon. The Principle can be applied no matter the level of skills of the chef or the available products. It’s yours to play with and gives you an infinite amount of options to create innovative dishes in a sustainable way. You can take it as far as your imagination lets you go, while it’s the perfect way to show your skills and the culinary heritage of your local cuisine. Three layers, boundless creativity.

Start telling the story

Nature will provide. She hides so many secrets for us to discover. The Mother Earth Principle helps us experience the endless possibilities that healthy plants provide for our gastronomy. Plants are much more than purely decoration and it’s our job as growers and chefs to tell that story to our guests. Preparing culinary food by using the Mother Earth Principle will show your guests that you care about their health and about using sustainable products but also about their taste and their admiration for visually attractive dishes.

This Principle educates us in the reasons we eat, the origins of our food and the emotion generated with culinary passion. Three layers, many happy guests.