New partnership sets out to democratise fermentation and create new solutions for a climate friendly food system
For the past five years, David Zilber was the Head of Fermentation at Noma, which was voted as the best restaurant in the world several times over the last decade. Recently, he decided it was time for a new challenge. Given their obvious fermentation expertise and strong sustainability profile, Chr. Hansen turned out to be Zilber’s logical next career step in the form of a partnership with the 145-year-old global bioscience company.
Said Zilber: “At Noma, I felt like I had accomplished everything I had set out to and more. Also, the pandemic really made me think about the shape of the world from a new perspective. I wanted to take the values and tenets that I believe in to the next level and scale them up to affect real change in the food system. And Chr. Hansen is already such a powerhouse within that world. A powerhouse in the realm of good microbes, a realm where I can put my skills to use, helping to create delicious and healthy solutions. I want to apply some of the ideas I have in mind to problems on a massive scale and try to do as much good as possible in the process. There’s a common mission we’re both striving to accomplish. And because of that, this really feels like a perfect match.”
Chr. Hansen is also excited about this collaboration between Zilber and their world-class scientists.
Explains Laurent Hubert, vice president in FC&E, Head of Food & Beverages, Chr. Hansen: “We are thrilled about welcoming David to Chr. Hansen. He has gained distinctive experience in the exciting world of fermentation, which is basically the biochemical breakdown of a substance by microbes, both preserving food and creating unique flavours, textures and enhanced nutrition.
“Together, we want to push the boundaries of fermentation. We will focus on delivering ground-breaking innovation with new tastes, experiences, crops…We want to improve the sensory experiences of our customers and create fast-track prototypes production in fermented plant bases. David will grow his ideas in his own fermentation kitchen, which is being built now. We are convinced he can bring some unique solutions to the table for the benefit of the planet. Fermentation is a technology that has been used for thousands of years, yet even today we have not explored its full potential in terms of addressing global challenges such as a sustainable food production, fighting food waste and climate change.” For more visit chr-hansen.com
