Ten finalists have been in shortlisted in the Basque Culinary World Prize 2017 it was announced at Palacio Miramar in San Sebastián, Spain this week.
Each chef finalist was nominated by peers working in the food industry in recognition of their commitment to society and their greater contribution to gastronomy. The 2017 shortlist includes four new names, with six inspiring chefs appearing once again from the inaugural 2016 shortlist proving their worth from a total of 110 nominees.
On 18 July a winner will be chosen from the final 10 by a jury that includes Gastón Acurio (Peru), Michel Bras (France), Dominique Crenn (US), Yoshihiro Narisawa (Japan), Enrique Olvera (Mexico), and Joan Roca (Spain) where he or she will be awarded €100,000 to devote to a project or institution of their choice that demonstrates the wider role of gastronomy in society.
Last year's winner was María Fernanda Di Giacobbe, a Venezuelan chocolate entrepreneur for her Cacao de Origen project (find out more about her here).
The Basque Culinary World Prize Finalists
Find the names of each of the finalists below with more information on the Basque Culinary World Prize website.
Anthony Myint - United States
Owner of Perennial restaurant in San Francisco and founder of ZeroFoodprint and The Perennial Farming Initiative, two organisations targeting restaurant carbon footprints and progressive agriculture respectively. Anthony was also shortlisted in last year's awards.
Dan Giusti - United States
Founder of Brigaid, an initiative designed to helps schools rethink the role and design of kitchens. He was also a finalist last year.
Daniel Patterson and Roy Choi - United States
Founders of LocoL, a joint restaurant chain project in the USA committed to changing the fast-food concept. They were also finalists last year.
David Hertz - Brazil
Founder of the Gastromotiva project in São Paulo providing free culinary training to young people from poor areas and community projects such as food waste project Refettorio Gastromotiva – in collaboration with Massimo Bottura´s food waste project: Food for Soul. David was also nominated last year.
Ebru Baybara Demir - Turkey
Leader of the Harran Gastronomy School Project designed to improve the employment prospects of economically vulnerable Turkish and Syrian women through culinary training. The project also builds bridges between Turkish and Syrian culture, providing refugees with training in gastronomic tourism which draws on the region’s historic and artistic heritage.
José Andrés - United States
Ambassador for the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and founder of World Central Kitchen. He also runs his own initiatives including World Central Kitchen, plus education and training programmes in countries such as Haití. Jose also makes his second appearance on the shortlist also.
Leonor Espinosa - Colombia
Founder of the Funleo foundation reviving the ancestral knowledge and know-how of mainly indigenous and Afro-Colombian peoples. as well as working on rural and socio-economic development. Leonar also appeared on the shortlist last year.
Melinda McRostie - Australia/Greece
Chef owner of the Captain’s Table restaurant on Lesbos, Greece, and founder of the Oxy transit camp and the Asterias-Starfish Foundation to provide food, water, refuge, medical facilities and buses to the capital Mytilene and addressing the humanitarian crisis.
Niko Romito - Italy
Chef owner of Reale restaurant in Italy and founder of the Inteligencia Nutricional project redesigning hospital food to improve nutritional and sensory qualities within hospital budget.
Ricardo Muñoz Zurita - Mexico
Author of the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mexican Gastronomy and all round advocate of local produce.
