Nominations open today for the Basque Culinary World Prize, an annual award for a trailblazing chef whose work has had a transformative impact in areas such as innovation, technology, education, environment, health, food industry and social or economic development.

This prize was created after a generation of international chefs proved that gastronomy can provide a fresh perspective on many issues ‘beyond the kitchen’. Now in its third year, this unique global award, created by the Basque Government and the Basque Culinary Center, celebrates the impact gastronomy can have when chefs use their knowledge, leadership, entrepreneurialism and creativity to generate  changes within society.

An interdisciplinary jury – made up of some of the most influential chefs in the world, academics and international experts – select each year’s winner, choosing a chef whose work embodies the ethos of the prize: to transform society through gastronomy. The winner will receive 100,000 euros, which he or she will devote to a project of their choice that expresses the transformative power of gastronomy.

Opening of nominations:

Gastronomic professionals and institutions will be able to nominate chefs from today until Thursday May 31st that demonstrate how gastronomy can become an engine of change.  Nominations must be made through the website of the Basque Culinary World Prize:

 www.basqueculinaryworldprize.com

The Basque Culinary World Prize appeals to the collective knowledge of the gastronomic community to discover professionals working throughout the world, who are developing projects in areas such as innovation, technology, education, the environment, health, the food industry and social and economic development.  The award is open to anyone with a professional background in cooking – regardless of their culinary culture or nationality.