• The Basque Culinary World Prize recognises the transformative power of gastronomy. Now in its ninth year, this prestigious award has established itself as a hallmark of distinction, highlighting how gastronomy serves as a powerful force for change. Through the remarkable efforts of talented chefs brimming with creativity and expertise, gastronomy emerges as a dynamic force that enriches society, inspiring and influencing communities worldwide
• The winner of the 100,000-euro prize will be announced at a public event in Lima (Peru) on June 19, 2024. This prize must be allocated to an initiative of the winner’s choice that highlights the transformative power of gastronomy.
• Professionals and institutions in the gastronomy sector can now nominate chefs with transformative initiatives whose impact is felt in areas such as innovation, technology, education, the environment, health, the food industry and social or economic development, among others.
• Dubbed the "Nobel Prize of Gastronomy" by the press and supported by renowned academics, experts, and world’s top chefs, the prize sparked a global conversation about the important role of gastronomy in delivering socioeconomic progress, receiving over 1,200 nominations and nearly 800 nominees from 42 countries to date.
Donostia - San Sebastián, 20 March 2024
Nominations are now open for the 9th edition of the Basque Culinary World Prize, an annual award for chefs with transformative initiatives. In 2024, this award seeks to strengthen the positive power of gastronomy in its reach and ability to deliver socioeconomic progress.
This global and innovative accolade was created by the Basque Culinary Center and the Basque Government, and it has cemented itself as a special distinction within a sector where gastronomy has proven to be a constructive, global, and inspiring phenomenon thanks to the work of chefs full of talent, knowledge and creativity, who generate positive impacts in areas such as science, health, innovation, nutrition, education, social, economic and environmental development.
This pioneering accolade, born out of a collaboration between Basque Culinary Center and the Basque Government, has cemented its reputation as a lauded distinction on the global stage. In a realm where gastronomy serves as a catalyst for constructive change, this award celebrates chefs whose exceptional talent, knowledge, and creativity drive positive impact across a spectrum of fields, including science, health, innovation, nutrition, education, and social, economic, and environmental development.
In 2023, the Basque Culinary World Prize celebrated the role that cuisine could play in cultural integration in Turkey through social development and strengthened biodiversity. This year, the award continues to celebrate the transformative power of gastronomy with inspiring stories of chefs such who, in so many places today, generate transformative progress.
An interdisciplinary jury of some of the world's most influential chefs, academics and international experts select the winner and each year they choose a chef whose work embodies the spirit of the award. The winner, who receives €100,000 for their work transforming society through gastronomy, will allocate the prize to an initiative that reinforces the constructive power of gastronomy.
Opening of nominations
Gastronomic professionals and institutions have until April 15 to nominate chefs who demonstrate how gastronomy can become an engine of change. Nominations must be made through the Basque Culinary World Prize website: www.basqueculinaryworldprize.com
This award appeals to the collective knowledge of the gastronomic community to discover culinary professionals from all over the world and is open to any chef with professional experience in the sector, regardless of their culinary culture, nationality or notoriety.
The nomination Process:
After the closing of the nomination period, the candidates will be analysed by the Basque Culinary World Prize secretariat, made up of academics and experts in gastronomy.
The winner will be selected at the meeting of the Jury, which is to be held in Peru in June 2024, and announced in Lima (PUCP) at an ‘open to the public’ event called T'impuy, on June 19, 2024. The selection will be made by an interdisciplinary jury chaired by Joan Roca (Spain) and made up of some of the most influential chefs in the world, including Pía León (Peru), Gastón Acurio (Peru), Dominique Crenn (France/USA), Yoshihiro Narisawa (Japan), Manu Buffara (Brazil), Josh Niland (Australia), Narda Lepes (Argentina), Thitid Tassanakajohn (Thailand), Trine Hahnemann (Denmark) and Elena Reygadas (Mexico), among others.
A celebrated award:
The award has had a great impact highlighting the work of chefs at the forefront of change and promoting the inspiring stories of professionals who use their knowledge to address problems such as climate change, food waste, biodiversity, humanitarian aid or social inclusion.
Chef Ebru Baybara was proclaimed the winner of the Basque Culinary World Prize 2023 for contributing, through gastronomy, to cultural integration in Mardin, near the border with Syria. She worked, for two decades, on initiatives that address everything from the migration crisis in the region, to the revitalization of soils in the face of climate change, and even the humanitarian assistance required after tragedies such as the earthquake Turkey suffered in February 2023.
In previous editions, the winners have been chefs from different parts of the world: Fatmata Binta (Sierra Leone, 2022), Xanty Elías (Spain, 2021), José Andrés (Spain/US, 2020), Anthony Myint (US, 2019), Jock Zonfrillo (Australia, 2018), Leonor Espinosa (Colombia, 2017) and María Fernanda di Giacobbe (Venezuela, 2016).
