The Transformative Power Of Gastronomy: The Basque Culinary World Prize

Descripción

The Basque Culinary World Prize puts €100,000 into the pocket of the winner, but that, it turns out, may be the least important detail in the story of this global, equal-opportunity gastronomic award.

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Ficha

Autor: Jill Barth
Fuente: Forbes
Fecha: 2018-07-12
Clasificación: 6.6. Gastronomía
Tipo documento: Blogs
Fondo: Sagardoetxea fondoa

Código: NA-010292

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Now in its third year, the prize considers nominees of a particular stature, but contrary to the world of celebrity chefs and restaurant rankings, eligible stature comes from transformative good works in the fields of education, health, research, sustainability, social entrepreneurship and economic development.

The Basque Culinary Prize (BCWP), in partnership with the Basque Culinary Center (BCC) and the Basque Government, announced 10 finalists this month, women and men who exhibit innovation, research and creativity in their work. "At the Basque Culinary Center, where our mission is to develop the economic and social potential of gastronomy, we are very encouraged by this, and we will continue to promote it," says Joxe Mari Aizega, director of the BCC.

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I spoke to Asier Alea, a member of the group that developed the BCWP and general manager of trade promotion and tourism for the Government of Biscay, about the origination of the prize. He likened it to the Nobel Prize or the Pritzker Architecture Prize. While the award is by nature highly competitive, it is meant to be more than an accolade but rather a vehicle for further contribution and a demonstration of what the winner has "achieved and given to society."

Leonor Espinosa, 2017 winner of the BCWP, was also voted Latin America's best chef, and her Bogotá... [+] restaurant was crowned best in Colombia. Photo Courtesy of the Basque Culinary World Prize.
Leonor Espinosa, 2017 winner of the BCWP, was also voted Latin America's best chef, and her Bogotá... [+]
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For example, the 2016 winner, Maria Fernanda di Giacobbe of Venezuela, created a cacao industry management program from which 1,500 have already graduated (94% women), helping women become chocolate entrepreneurs while assisting local, rural producers with resources for economic development. The 2017 recipient, Leonor Espinosa of Colombia, works with ancestral Afro-Colombian indigenous people and is opening the Comprehensive Gastronomy Centre in Chocó as a viable economic alternative to drug trafficking. The prize money helps, Alea says, but the "attention and recognition have empowered the winners, and that's the best reward."

A panel from the BCC along with an interdisciplinary technical committee from around the world will select the winner from a slate of nominees including residents of Turkey, Peru, Denmark/U.S., Spain, Australia/Scotland, Norway, Democratic Republic of Congo/Germany and the United States. They were selected from a pool of approximately 170 nominees. "Global entries were a priority," says Alea.

That this prize comes out of Basque Country — the Basque Autonomous Community, or Pays Basque in French and Euskadi or País Vasco in Spanish — is a natural extension of the culture of the region. Alea shared that Basque Country "hasn't lost touch with where our food comes from." The balance between the 21st century and "neolithic" rural farming is transcendent of the march of progress seen elsewhere, where people are separate from their food sources.

Fishing boats tied up in the port of Elanxobe, Spain. Photo Credit: Xabier Mikel Laburu/Bloomberg... [+] News
Fishing boats tied up in the port of Elanxobe, Spain. Photo Credit: Xabier Mikel Laburu/Bloomberg... [+]
Bittor Oroz, deputy minister of agriculture, fisheries and food policy for the Basque government, says that values promoted by this award internationalize Basque priorities of social transformation: "The Basque society has always been a supportive culture with a long tradition of working for the benefit of the community. We call this auzolan." Oroz, who oversees the food supply chain for Basque Country, feels that gastronomy should exhibit solidarity, "common to all countries, regions or nationalities of the world, regardless of their economic situation." He continues: "Today, this is not always the case. That is why we are trying, through our sectors of influence, such as gastronomy, to further its development."

"Few things are more horizontal than food," says Alea, and gastronomy as a touchstone makes the work of the nominees hit home for all of us. While a fancy restaurant or a culinary cruise is out of reach for most of the world, transformative impact trickles down to hungry people worldwide.

For example, the issue of food waste is addressed by nominee Heidi Bjerkan of Norway, who operates in a "circular system" with local farmers — purchasing their produce and putting the unused matter back into the fields as organic fertilizer. Nominee Marc Puig-Pey of Spain works with children and adults with dietary restrictions or a need for modified textures (think: those undergoing chemotherapy) to create nutritious and tasty food they can enjoy eating. These are only two of the 10 nominees — later this month, the world will learn who wins the prize and brings their work to a larger number of people, inspiring us all.

This story is first in a two-part series on the Basque Culinary Prize. A follow-up story will reveal the story winner after the July 24 announcement.