Indian start-up gets royal support as Prince William serves up burgers

AN INDIAN start-up enjoyed royal support last week as Prince William served up environmentally friendly burgers from a food truck in south London.

In a video released last Sunday (31), William handed out “Earthshot Burgers” to highlight the work of last year’s winners of his annual Earthshot Prize, which he set up to help develop solutions to major environmental problems.

“Coming right up,” the prince said as he served up the burgers to the stunned customers. “Morning everyone, nicely cooked, ready to go.”

The burger’s ingredients were grown from a greenhouse in India from a company called Kheyti, which won the Earthshot Prize in 2022.

Its greenhouse-in-a-box is designed for small-hold farmers and the crops they grow, offering shelter from unpredictable elements and destructive pests, according to the Kheyti website.

The object for William, who teamed up with the founders of YouTube channel Sorted Food (which reviews kitchen gadgets and shares recipes), was to raise the profile and work of three previous winners of the Earthshot Prize.

To test their innovations, the prince invited Sorted Food founder and chef Ben Ebbrell and the channel’s head of food, Kush Bhasin, who has worked in several hotels and restaurants including Benares in Mayfair.

The prince told surprised customers at the burger van the box they were served the burgers in was built by a company called Notpla which did not contain plastic, but had a seaweed coating.

The burgers were cooked on Mukuru Clean Stoves, designed by a woman in Kenya who came up with the concept to reduce air pollution.

William joked, “Can’t vouch for the taste, the quality but … I’m rolling with it.”

Kheyti co-founder and CEO, Kaushik Kappagantulu, said, “Our Greenhouse-in-a-Box is empowering farmers in India today.”

According to the website, 1,000 farms have a Kheyti greenhouse, and by 2027, the start-up aims to have 50,000 farmers acquire a Greenhouse-in-a-Box.