This chef’s artful creations are speaking up for our marine life

Food is a language everyone understands, and Callan Austin is using it to make a statement. Passionate about marine conservation, the chef garnered international attention when he designed a meal that alerts diners to the plight of sea creatures.

Austin is the creator of ‘Ghost Net,’ a dish representative of the disused fishing nets endangering marine life. It’s an edible echo of the traps trawlers cast into the sea. When damaged, they’re disposed of in the deep and continue to entangle whales, fish, and turtles. “I wanted to highlight that story using proudly South African ingredients,” Austin says. He uses spiralised vegetables to convey the web, while sustainably-caught octopus symbolises the creatures in danger.

“It was important to create a dish that was ethical,” Austin says. For his recipe, he earned the S. Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility. With meticulously chosen ingredients and a commitment to conservation, this young chef is speaking up for sea creatures and giving them a chance of survival.