Interview with Walter el Nagar, Executive Director of Fondazione MATER

© Mater Fondazione

Could you tell us about yourself and how you got involved in the social and solidarity economy?

My name is Walter El Nagar, a 43-year-old Italian father and cook. My journey into the social and solidarity economy began seven years ago during what I now recognize as a pivotal professional crisis. After moving from Dubai to Geneva, where I had left a prestigious job due to my disillusionment with the deplorable conditions of indentured workers, I found myself about to open a high-end restaurant in a five-star hotel.

Geneva, a city renowned for its dedication to peace, being home to the UN, CERN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the ILO, sparked a profound internal conflict within me. I realized I was still cooking for the same global elites, while half the city was engaged in conversations about social impact and sustainability. Professionally, I felt a profound sense of submission and inaction.

This prompted deep reflection on how I, as a cook, could create a mechanism where my culinary skills could generate direct social impact. My vision crystallized into a concept for a new kind of restaurant: one that is sustainable and socially inclusive. The foundation of that restaurant (le Cinquieme Jour) was built on the principles of mutualistic economy, but it also integrated urgent contemporary issues such as food waste management, localism, and improving worker conditions.

Could you tell us about your work in Mater Fondazione in Geneva? 

The initial iteration of my foundational idea was encapsulated in a for-profit enterprise, which ultimately collapsed under its own limitations. In my opinion, a truly effective social and solidarity economy cannot operate within a private, for-profit business model because the issue of profit maximization inevitably arises, as it did for me in 2019. This realization led me to transform my private restaurant into a non-profit foundation: Fondazione Mater.

Can a private business bring about change and impact in society? Yes, but only by evolving and extinguishing its profit-making elements. A non-profit organization better embodies the fundamental characteristics of an SSE and is legally coherent with its goals. In Switzerland, a foundation is the optimal legal status for incorporating an SSE, with numerous examples in Geneva such as Fondation Trajet, Fondation PRO, and Partage.

Mater's mission is to promote social inclusion and sustainability through gastronomy. This high ideal is realized through concrete work carried out by dedicated workers and professionals, rather than through voluntaristic philanthropy or charity. These traditional approaches are integral to ongoing problems and are not designed, nor do they have a vested interest, in overcoming the issues themselves.

How does Refettorio restaurant in Geneva work and serve the bigger vision of Mater Fondazione? 

Refettorio is the latest and most comprehensive iteration of this concept. Its basic functioning is quite straightforward: it operates as a modern, high-standard restaurant open five days a week. During lunchtime, we welcome anyone who can afford to pay for a business lunch. In the evening, we provide dinner to those who cannot afford it. It's a simple yet powerful model. We invite citizens (not consumers) to dine with us, offering them the chance to make a direct social impact on their community by subsidizing meals for those in need.

In reality, Refettorio addresses multiple issues uniquely: democratization of fine dining, social inclusion, nutrition, food waste management, and worker conditions. Refettorio is the only restaurant in the world operating this way, and in just 2.5 years, it has served 25,000 meals to Geneva's precarious population. Each meal includes a choice between two three-course menus—omnivore or vegetarian—crafted from scratch using only seasonal local ingredients. We serve house-made sodas, bread, and oil, with local colza oil instead of olive oil. 

Moreover, we are the only restaurant in Switzerland certified 100 per cent zero waste. We provide our workforce with exceptional conditions: horizontal collective management, above-average salaries plus benefits, and a salary gap of only 30 per cent between the highest and lowest earners. Additionally, we use our magnificent location as a platform to advocate for the right to food and sustainability in the food and beverage sector.

What are your plans for Mater Fondazione in general and Refettorio in particular in the coming years?

Firstly, I will intensify my efforts on worker-led systemic change. To illustrate, last May we produced a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) for the implementation of the Right to Food across the EU. This initiative calls for a transformation of the entire food system. How can such a massive system be reformed without consulting and involving the workforce at its core?

Today, we face more crises than we can count, yet none of the proposed solutions require active participation from workers. At best, workers are left in a passive state, only playing a limited role as consumers or occasionally voting in elections of varying legitimacy. My foundation and I advocate for the democratization of the food system, starting from our own kitchen and workplace. This approach should extend to human rights themselves. Why has the European workforce never had a significant voice in human rights discussions in Europe? It's time for a change: citizens must be involved from the very beginning in policy-making and law-making processes. We have the power, mechanisms, and instruments to do so.

I hope, very humbly but effectively, that Mater can serve as an example for others. Our goal is to demonstrate that meaningful change is possible, and I hope to see our approach replicated successfully in other contexts.