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The Basque Culinary World Prize 2019 is back with its fourth edition, the international award designed to shine a spotlight on the power of gastronomy to transform society, promoted by the Basque Government and the Basque Culinary Center.
Online Nominations open: How to Apply
Online nominations open on the Basque Culinary’s website today and can be made by professionals and institutions working in the culinary sector, from scholars and academics to journalists and, entrepreneurs, by 15 May.
Nominees must be professionals working in the gastronomy sector,anywhere in the world, and can win the award, based on their work in fields such as culinary innovation, health, nutrition, education, the environment, the food industry, social or economic development, among others. Each candidate will be considered on merit, rather than the number of nominations received.
The jury of the Basque Culinary World Prize 2019
Massimo Bottura, is one of the biggest supporters of the initiative, who also demonstrates a firm belief in encouraging ethical values in the industry. The Italian chef was also president of the jury at last year’s ceremony in Italy’s Modena, where he named chef Jock Zonfrillo the 2018 winner for his work in rediscovering and preserving the gastronomic and cultural heritage of the indigenous communities in Australia.
This year's interdisciplinary jury will be chaired by Joan Roca (Spain) and includes, among others, Massimo Bottura, Gastón Acurio, Ferran Adrià, Michel Bras, Yoshihiro Narisawa and Enrique Olvera, as well as academics and renowned international experts in gastronomy.
The winner will be announced on 15 July in San Francisco where they will receive a prize of 100,000 euros to be allocated to their charity, during an event hosted by Dominique Crenn.
The Hall of Basque Culinary Prize Winners
"I'm very proud to have won the Basque Culinary World Prize 2018. Having a jury of peers for whom I feel huge respect makes this recognition even more meaningful" said Italian-Scottish chef Jock Zonfrillo, from Adelaide's Orana restaurant. The world of gastronomy is expressing a great force for change and the Basque Culinary World Prize is an important tool in this movement."
In 2017, the Basque Culinary World Prize went to Colombian Leonor Espinosa for her work promoting "Gastronomy for development" with her foundation, FunLeo. Thanks to the dishes served at her restaurants Leo and Misia in Bogotá she has created a "link" between the ancestral knowledge of the indigenous and Afro-Colombian population, the requirements of rural areas and the opportunities and desire for new flavours in the city.
The 2016 prize winner was María Fernanda Di Giacobbe from Venezuela, who was recognised for her work in creating a network of training, entrepreneurship, research and development around cocoa as a source of identity, culture and wellbeing by offering opportunities to financially vulnerable women who have since become micro-entrepreneurs in the chocolate industry with her Cacao de Origen.
