Sustainability, the future of food, nutritional quality, and the threat of inadequately feeding increasingly growing populations are not just trending buzzwords in the food industry – they are a stark reality.
Kita (meaning ‘us’ or ‘we’ in Malay) Food Festival is an exploration and celebration of food in Southeast Asia. Debuting in Malaysia in 2021, KITA was conceptualised and co-founded by Darren Teoh, chef-owner of Malaysia’s first and only two-Michelin star Dewakan in Kuala Lumpur, and Australian-born, Asia-based food and travel journalist Leisa Tyler, to address these issues and the potential of F&B, bringing together some of the region’s leading chefs and culinary minds to inspire consciousness and reshape the future of food.
According to UNEP 2024 (United Nations Environment Program), 19% of all food available is wasted at the retail, food service, and household level, in addition to 13% of the world's food lost in the supply chain. Moreover, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Food (UNFCCC, 2024), food waste today is responsible for up to 10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions (nearly five times the total emissions from the aviation sector), contributing to biodiversity loss while using up a third of the world’s agricultural land.
Says Tyler, "We’re thrilled to bring together some of the top thought leaders devising innovative ways on how to make available food go further. The statistics – that food loss creates almost five times more greenhouse gas emissions than the aviation industry, and up to 30% of all food produced does not get consumed by people – says it all, making these topics some of the most pertinent facing humans today.”
Kita has undoubtedly put Southeast Asia on the gastro-tourism map with its series of curated dinners, collaboration cook ups, symposiums, and CSR programmes. Kita Conversations provides a unique platform for the younger generation of upcoming chefs to chew on consumption in Southeast Asia, the future of food and how tomorrow’s food systems are shaping up.
The Future of Food Series 2025, organised by Synthesis Partners (a Singapore-based data strategy consultancy specialising in industry trend forecasting) and supported by sustainable water company, Be WTR saw Kita Food Festival returning to Singapore in February this year. For this fourth edition, KITA introduced a novel format including three test-kitchen seminars and a symposium, to get the conversation rolling on what we are likely to be eating a decade from now, and how population and climate change will dramatically reshape our diets then.
More than 50 industry leaders including Jake Berber, Co-Founder and CEO of Prefer (Singapore), Peter Smit, Chef-Owner of Dirty Supper (Singapore), and Qi Herng Kong, Co-Founder of The Moonbeam Co., moderated by Synthesis strategist Bilge Arslan, gathered at Synthesis Creative Data House to explore innovative solutions to maximize the food that we have available.
‘Sourcing the Future of Food’, ‘Stretching the Future of Food’, and ‘Finding Sustenance in The Future of Food’ were the seminars covered by Kita this year. Unlike previous editions with their industry-focused dinners, the event is now open to the public, reflecting a broader effort to raise awareness and inspire change. “It’s more than just dining,” said Teoh during Kita 2023. “Our aim is to shine a light on the burgeoning South-east Asian influence in the regional restaurant scene. At the same time, we aspire to inspire and educate the younger generation of food producers, while fostering discussions on food consumption and the restaurant industry.”
Building on one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to halve global food waste by 2030, Kita’s Menu 2034 (built upon Synthesis’ research), modelled 100,000 possible versions of what the world might look like in 2034, with the world’s increasing population placing even greater pressure on meat and dairy production, further straining the holy grail of the three natural resources (water, land, and energy), each of which are already under stress from existing agricultural practices.
The result revealed two possible futures: Radical Transformation, where we proactively change behaviour, learn from tradition and regenerative agriculture to live within planetary boundaries; or Resilient Adaptation, where innovation, science and technology help us create novel foods to thrive in changing environments.
Currently, more than 50% of the world’s calories come from rice, wheat, and corn. Considering that about 30,000 plants are edible by humans, diversifying nutrition is crucial to building resilience in a world where food systems are increasingly under pressure due to climate change-induced extreme weather events. Said Synthesis founder Lee Fordham, “The initiative aims to showcase businesses shaping the future of food, whether through innovation or rediscovery of traditional methods. The big picture is that we need to feed a growing population sustainably (think 8.8 billion people), whilst bringing down greenhouse gas emissions. Of all the options available, cutting food waste – which today accounts for one third of all food produced – is not only the most obvious choice, but the most impactful.”
He added, “Food waste is disproportionately concentrated in fresh food, like fruit and vegetables, so there is enormous nutritional opportunity to tap into it. A great example to demonstrate what is possible is Whey Protein Powder. Liquid whey is the byproduct of cheese production, which used to be viewed as waste and thrown away. But today, we turn it into (whey) powder in an industry worth over US$20 billion.”
(Related: Celebrating natural, wild, and sustainable Alaska seafood)
What might sustainable food of the future look like? Guests sampled less familiar options like pig head nuggets and pig ear terrine by chef-owner Peter Smith of Dirty Supper, in his vision of a ‘good cut’; while chef Russell Nathan, former head chef of Michelin-starred Nouri and creator of Analogue’s circular menu, demonstrated the ‘Art of Preservation’ through simple methods including fermentation, smoking, curing, pickling, and dehydration to help reduce household waste.
Other unconventional but promising food samples included the sustainable seafood Blueyou Selva Shrimp oat congee, Altimate Nutrition’s (a local insect-based food company) cricket-infused hazelnut madeleines, and crudites featuring locally grown produce and climate-resilient plants from Singapore’s wet markets. “There is much less capital going to food innovation now than there was a few years ago, and that is a big challenge because this is a really urgent problem that needs to be solved now,” said Blair Crichton, CEO of Karana (Hong Kong).
And it’s not just limited to food. Vijay Mudaliar, owner of Native and Analogue (one of the World’s 50 Best Bars) crafted cocktails using by-products and preserved ingredients, including an innovative ‘coffee highball’ using beanless coffee from Prefer (made from bread, soy, and barley) and grapeskin vodka and oxidised wine from Discarded (an award-winning zero waste spirits brand reusing waste from the coffee, wine, and whisky industries). Says René Benguerel, CEO at BlueYou (Switzerland), “We need to go back to local knowledge and cultural heritage to innovate nutrition habits and become climate resilient.”
Teoh remarked: “I think it’s fascinating that we’re at a point in human history where the very systems we’ve created to sustain ourselves are now causing so much harm. The recent Synthesis and Kita dialog surrounding food sourcing really brought this to light. The world is grappling with issues like monocropping, the loss of biodiversity, and access to truly nutritious food; and, in many cases, just food itself. It’s encouraging to witness people working through these complexities and contributing to what is, ultimately, a collective effort: A jigsaw solution that we’re all piecing together.”
He ends by saying, “The future of Kita lies in its ability to adapt and evolve, and the move to Singapore as a hub represents an exciting new chapter. It’s not just about curating exceptional dining experiences but fostering meaningful conversations that resonate beyond the kitchen. Kita has always been about community, sustainability, and the narratives that define our food. By embracing this next step, we’re creating opportunities to explore fresh perspectives, connect diverse voices, and inspire change - not just within the industry but across the wider community.”
Kita’s Singapore Weekender event from 12 to 17 March 2025 showcases kitchen takeovers, four-hand dinners, the family-friendly (Sunday afternoon) Graze & Groove, finishing with a bang with the grand Big Barbecue finale. The series culminates on 17 March with The Future of Food Symposium at New Bahru, featuring several thought leaders and industry ground breakers from around the world
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