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In line with its commitment to sustainability, Relais & Châteaux is pleased to announce four joint initiatives with UNESCO, spanning multiple continents and promoting sustainable hospitality and culinary practices in harmony with all life on earth.
This milestone builds on the strategic partnership established in 2024 between Relais & Châteaux and UNESCO. The projects bring together world-renowned chefs and UNESCO-designated sites and conventions, including Biosphere Reserves, World Heritage Sites, Global Geoparks and Intangible Cultural Heritage. Each of the four Relais & Châteaux properties (FYN Restaurant, Maison Pic, Eleven Madison Park and L’Effervescence) work to deepen their engagement in biodiversity and climate action, supporting local communities and mobilising broad audiences to adopt sustainable practices and behaviors, in line with the 12 commitments of Relais & Châteaux and UNESCO’s mandate.
The projects are guided by UNESCO’s expertise in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and preserving biodiversity. Each property commits to at least one sustainability action under each of the following pillars:
- Respect all life on earth and minimize their impact on nature
- Preserve and pass on local knowledge and practices
- Strive for excellence and solidarity to inspire change locally and internationally
At the origin of this initiative is Mauro Colagreco, Vice President, Chefs, of Relais & Châteaux and Chef owner of the restaurant Mirazur in Menton. Appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity in 2022, Mauro Colagreco has infused his culinary creations with environmental awareness, making it the guiding compass of his work. His restaurant Mirazur became the first restaurant in the world to be certified plastic free and was also the first three-star restaurant to receive the B-Corp label.
“As UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, I have spent the past three years championing biodiversity and inspiring as many people as possible to join this collective mission. In my role as Vice President of Chefs at Relais & Châteaux, I am honored to work with an extraordinary network of chefs from over 800 restaurants across 580 properties in 65 countries to shape the future of gastronomy and its vital connection to nature. I believe cuisine has the power to transform the world. It is not just about creating flavors, but about living together—sharing time, cooking side by side, and creating meaningful moments. It is about shaping memories, passing down recipes, as well as knowledge and savoir-faire from one generation to the next. Above all, it is about reimagining food systems to nurture life and harmony. This vision comes to life through these four pilot projects – from indigenous species stewardship in Africa and sustainable fishing in Asia to the preservation of culinary savoir-faire in Europe and community-centered food education in North America – each demonstrating how gastronomy can actively protect ecosystems,” shares Mauro Colagreco, Vice President, Chefs of Relais & Châteaux and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity.
“These four projects mark the first tangible expression of our partnership with UNESCO. By honoring indigenous and forgotten ingredients, preserving cultural heritage and savoir-faire, promoting food education, and advocating sustainable sourcing, these highly recognized Relais & Châteaux chefs embody our commitments for a sustainability in harmony with all life on Earth”, declares Laurent Gardinier, President of Relais & Châteaux.
“These projects show how gastronomy can become a force with and for people—protecting biodiversity, keeping cultural heritage alive, and shaping more sustainable ways of living. By working with Relais & Châteaux and its properties, UNESCO is helping turn respect for all life on Earth into concrete action, rooted in local communities’ know-how and shared globally,” said Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of UNESCO.
Spread across four continents, these projects focus on key concrete action plans, to protect:
Indigenous species and lost ingredients
Relais & Châteaux FYN Restaurant, South Africa x Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve and Cape Floral Region Protected Areas UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Chef Peter Tempelhoff integrates ingredients directly sourced from within the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve and Cape Floral Region Protected Areas UNESCO World Heritage Site, focusing on indigenous species. Supporting biodiversity, he cultivates these species on FYN’s farms and raises awareness of their ecological importance—discouraging illegal foraging.
Intangible cultural heritage and savoir-faire
Relais & Châteaux Maison Pic, France x UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
- Chef Anne-Sophie Pic sources most of the plant-based elements of her work from her local terroir – the Drôme and Ardèche – two departments known for organic agriculture. With this in mind, she is partnering with UNESCO to help promote this heritage. In the long term, this initiative could pave the way for the creation of a new UNESCO designation in the region. At the heart of this ambition is the Auberge du Pin – the house of her great‑grandmother and the cradle of her family heritage, which has been undergoing a gradual rehabilitation since 2003, beginning with the conversion of her grandfather André Pic’s vineyards to biodynamic farming. Anne-Sophie Pic will continue exploring the infinite potential of the living world, strengthening the links between agricultural biodiversity and wild biodiversity, notably through the reintroduction and promotion of ancient plant varieties.
Food education and community support
Relais & Châteaux Eleven Madison Park, NY, USA x Champlain-Adirondack Biosphere Reserve
- Chef Daniel Humm sources ingredients from the Champlain–Adirondack Biosphere Reserve in collaboration with Indigenous and local producers. He is launching the “Food Futures Lab”, co-created with the Champlain–Adirondack Biosphere Reserve and other local stakeholders, to foster education and innovation in biodiversity and plant-based culinary arts. Documenting and sharing local knowledge through a co-authored case study on the Champlain–Adirondack Biosphere Reserve, he highlights community learning and project outcomes for global dissemination.
Sustainable practices regarding fishing and sourcing
Relais & Châteaux L’Effervescence, Japan x UNESCO World Heritage Site: Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island
- Chef Shinobu Namae is building a network of stakeholders to demonstrate how selective, low-impact fishing methods – such as freedive spearfishing, which allows fishers to directly observe underwater ecosystems while harvesting – combined with active conservation efforts like seaweed bed regeneration, can help restore ecosystems and protect biodiversity. Through direct collaboration with fishers, local communities, and UNESCO World Heritage site managers in Amami-Oshima Island, the initiative documents sustainable fishing practices and traditional know-how regarding fishing as living forms of stewardship. By consciously sourcing from fishers who not only harvest fish but also take action to regenerate the habitats that sustain them, L’Effervescence supports a model of human engagement through fishing that actively sustains marine ecosystems. By sharing these insights, Chef Namae educates guests and partners that the regeneration of underwater forests is as essential as the restoration of forests on land.
These four long term initiatives mark an important first step in the shared mission of Relais & Châteaux and UNESCO to advance sustainable hospitality worldwide.
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