Chefs on Fire IV

All festivals created by Lohad work on a five-year sustainability strategy for continuous improvement to their events (developed by the consulting firm Because Impacts). The strategy also applies to the 2026 São Paulo edition and focuses on seven areas of action: Responsible food, Energy and emissions, Water and sanitation, Materials and circularity, Mobility and transportation, Community and Reforestation.

Direct

• Responsible food: Lohad’s strategy has the goal of prioritizing local producers and ensuring local supply, working with chefs to develop low-waste recipes, set up composting and recycling stations and partnering with social institutions for food donations after the festival. In this edition, a ticketing app will be used to manage production needs in real time, and a partnership is planned with São Paulo’s Food Bank to donate the food left overs.
• Energy and emissions: The promoter aims to consume 100% of the energy from renewable sources, and reduce the GHG in 90% until 2030, by transitioning to efficient equipment, green batteries and through carbon compensation for the festivals’ emissions.
• Water and sanitation: The goals are to reduce the water consumption in 50% until 2023 and increase water reuse during the festivals. Low-flow toilets will be installed, with showers and taps that reduce the amount of water used, and a wastewater recovering system will allow the festival to re-use this water for cleaning purposes.
• Materials and circularity: The festival intends to reduce single-use plastic to zero, raising the recycling rate to 100% and turning the festival 100% circular until 2030, by using biodegradable tableware, offering composting and recycling stations for minimal waste and form external partnerships to monitor the festivals’ performance regarding the materials used.
• Mobility and transportation: Reduce in 55% the GHG emissions associated with people transportation and equipment use until 2030 and promoting sustainable alternatives for transportation and stay during the festival. 
• Community: The promoter believes in a festival in synergy with the community and accessible for all. Free tickets will be given to the local community which will grant them access to the festival and its responsible cooking workshops.
• Promoting the creation of green jobs: This loan will enable the creation of 420 direct and indirect jobs, of which 8 will be on the company’s permanent structure.

Indirect

• Reforestation for impact neutrality: The festival, being based on fire cooking, uses wood. For this reason, they plant trees more than equivalent to the amount of wood consumed at each event and aim to guarantee reforestation every year in excess of the wood purchased and consumed at the festival. To date, over 700 trees have been planted by the Chefs on Fire team in cooperation with Cascais Municipal Council for the Portuguese editions and 300 trees were planted with the Complutense University for the Spanish edition.

A LOHAD foi fundada em 2019 como canal de execução para a criatividade sustentável, pelo Gonçalo Castel-Branco. A sede da empresa, que conta hoje com sensivelmente 15 colaboradores, é em Lisboa.

O promotor cria eventos de entretenimento sustentável e coloca-se como um dos principais atores nacionais da industria. O seu objetivo é continuar a reposicionar a gastronomia nacional como ferramenta cultural e social e contagiar pessoas e empresas com comportamentos melhores para o seu corpo e o seu planeta.

Em todos os seus projectos gastronómicos, a LOAHD tenta aplicar uma estrutura simples, como base para uma conversa maior sobre quem somos, as histórias e hábitos que nos importa manter e cuidar - comida incrível - que seja boa para quem consome, para a comunidade e para o planeta:

• Boa para a comunidade porque escolhe e promove produtores e histórias locais.
• Boa para quem consome, tentando que os clientes se apaixonem também pela qualidade que isso representa e educando-os para a importância das suas escolhas.
• Boa para o planeta porque apresentam uma dieta variada, com mínimo impacto ambiental e social.

A LOHAD recebeu, com o projeto do Presidential o prémio de melhor evento público do mundo (pelos BEA Awards), o prémio de evento inovador dos Prémio Nacional de Turismo (Expresso e BPI); com o Chefs on Fire, o prémio de melhor evento gastronómico dos Prémio Nacional de Turismo (Expresso e BPI); Acontecimento do Ano em 2021 pela Time Out e Evento do Ano dos Mesa Marcada. Já o Gonçalo Castel-Branco foi, entre outras premiações, classificado com o um dos 10 melhores Marketeers do país pelo Clube dos Criativos e homenageado pelo Congresso dos Cozinheiros peço seu “contributo prestado ao crescimento e promoção da gastronomia portuguesa”.