Toronto-born David Zilber is a chef, a photographer, a model, and an author (and with the name David Chaim Jacob Zilber, he once won the award for most Jewish name on a tour bus full of teenagers in Israel).

But what he is most known for is running the Noma Fermentation Lab since 2016 -- essentially leading the R&D work for culinary innovations at Noma in Copenhagen, named 'best restaurant in the world' several times since 2010. New York Magazine called him 'One of the Food World's Most Pioneering Figures.' (If you want to get to know him better, read this, this, this, and this).

David worked at Noma from 2014 until the summer of 2020. I had to the opportunity to sit down and speak with him over coffee (that I don't drink) this week. David is physically and mentally recharging after six fantastic years at Noma - that also included intense, extreme pressure and stress. Working in the #1 restaurant in the world means a tough work environment, almost like competing in the Olympics to deliver a superior experience for the guests, every. single. day.

David and I discussed how many parts of the food system are broken. How soils are depleted; how farms go bankrupt as consumers spend less than ever on food; how subsidies for corn, meat, and dairy are creating perverse outcomes. How the food system heavily relies on a finite resource, fossil fuel, to produce high yields. And that burning these fuels may bring the climate back to a much warmer one not experienced for millions of years; one that is incompatible with the human way of life. That it can all feel overwhelming. But that we know that there are solutions. How regenerative farming can restore soils. How True Cost Accounting (pricing in externalities into food) can create better results. How food needs to cost more, for various reasons. How teaching people how to cook whole foods again, in homes and schools, can create better health outcomes and a stronger connection to the food that connects us all.

David is excited to have started a new chapter in his life - where he's meeting new people, exploring things, and enjoying his beloved Copenhagen. He's currently writing on a new book and is thinking about what to do next. I asked him if he had a message for the readers of FoodTech Weekly. He said: Eat more cabbage - it's great for you!