Our ambassador, star chef Tanja Grandits from Basel, is committed to helping young women from our partner organization Ebli in Tanzania.
Why are you involved with terre des hommes schweiz?
I realize every day how lucky I am in my life. That’s why it’s important to me that I keep actively doing things that are outside my own happiness zone. I support the projects in Tanzania that are committed to a fairer future for young women. Young women are extremely close to my heart because I have a young woman as a daughter. She is so lucky with what she does and lives in great freedom. In many places in the world, young women still have a very, very hard time in life. None of the things we have here in Switzerland can be taken for granted.
We are committed to sustainble livelihoods. To what extent is sustainability important to you when it comes to cooking?
It is always a great motivation for me to do things with a clear conscience. And not at the expense of the environment or animals. I try to do my best here too. My principle is to actively do good things – even in my job. For example, the regional origin of the food is very important to me, and we also try to produce as little waste as possible.
In addition to your restaurant, the store and your work for terre des hommes schweiz, you have a daughter and a dog. How do you juggle everything?
I can only do so much because I have such great people around me. You can’t achieve much on your own, but together with my team, I can achieve a lot. I have almost 50 employees who support me. I also have a lot of energy because I enjoy what I do so much.
If you could change the world, what would you do first?
I focus on the things that I can change in my own world. It’s clear: there should never be another war and no one should go hungry. But if you think too much about these big things, you quickly forget that you can change a lot of things on a small scale.
How would you convince others to get involved with terre des hommes schweiz or similar organizations?
I think this kind of commitment is really important because we are sitting on a golden throne. Most people in Switzerland don’t have to worry about whether they’ll have something to eat the next day. It is so important to be aware of this. We are a community of life on this planet and we are not only responsible for ourselves.
You have written a new cookbook. When will it be published? My new vegetarian cookbook “Einfach Tanja” will be published in October. The recipes are even simpler than before and can all be shared at the table. I’m looking forward to the book and to having my recipes published here in the magazine.
The interview was conducted by Valerie Wendenburg, Media and Communications at terre des hommes schweiz
