David is a visionary, a pioneer where he uses his best skills to promote social projects related to food. He is a chef and social entrepreneur, has a creative mind, loves to connect people and build bridges that can transform society to be more equitable. He co-founded Gastromotiva, an NGO that empowers through kitchen vocational training, nutritional and sustainable food education socially vulnerable communities such as youth from low-income families, immigrants and women who have been left behind. He is one of the minds and hearts that co-founded Social Gastronomy Movement, that fosters collaborations and access between socially engaged chefs and social entrepreneurs with other sectors of society. This movement, that is starting as a community, aims to scale local best practices to transform millions of lives of people who have been left behind in our society. At the same time, he encourages and engages everyone that is in the food chain such as the hospitality market, governments and industry to become more inclusive and socially responsible to ensure the sustainability of our food and health system.
During the 2016 Olympics, he founded Refettorio Gastromotiva, a no-food-waste cooking restaurant school, in collaboration with chef Massimo Bottura and journalist Alexandra Forbes.
Named the 2019 recipient of The Charles Bronfman Prize, given to a humanitarian whose innovative work, informed by Jewish values, has significantly improved the world.
