How a New York Chef is Leading the Charge on Low-Carbon Dining

On a busy afternoon in New York City,  Executive Sous Chef Daniel McWilliams pulls a tray of cauliflower barbacoa from the oven. The dish is smoky and satisfying, and guests line up to try, not realizing they are part of something bigger. Meals like this are helping reduce the marketplace’s carbon footprint, one delicious plate at a time.

Chef Daniel serves as the Carbon Foodprint Champion for a large financial services company. In this role, he uses Compass Group’s proprietary Carbon Foodprint tool to measure the impact of his menus and find ways to reduce the climate impact of meals. By swapping ingredients and testing new recipes, Chef Daniel has cut red meat purchases by nearly 20% in less than a year.

“Sometimes all a beautiful local vegetable needs is salt and olive oil,”  Chef Daniel says.  Guests embrace the simplicity, discovering that satisfying flavor can come from a few fresh ingredients.

The same care shows up in the way Chef Daniel and his team reduce food waste. Since early 2024, they have composted nearly 18 tons of food waste and donated almost three tons of surplus food to community partners. Instead of heading to the landfill, leftovers are either turned into healthy soil or a meal for someone in need.

Compass Group has pledged to reach Climate Net Zero by 2050, in part by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from food and drink purchases by 28 percent  by 2030. Chef Daniel’s efforts show how chefs can translate big goals into progress, turning commitments into action in daily practice.

For the example he sets in the kitchen every day, Chef Daniel is recognized as Eurest’s September 2025 Food with Purpose Change Maker.