into the contemporary gastronomy movement Curated by Sasha Correa and Iñaki Martínez de Albeniz Editorial Production Sasha Correa, Iñaki Martinez de Albeniz and Raúl Nagore Art Direction Santos Bregaña Illustrations Pedro Perles Production Assistant Jimena González Fernández Victor Unzu Audiovisual Bernat Alberdi Collaborators Javier Muro, Harkaitz Cano, Itsaso Gabellanes, José Luis López de Zubiria, Corné Nuham, Azti-Tecnalia, Nanogune, IMAGO. 3 Introduction. Joxe Mari Aizega 50 Glimpses. Sasha Correa and Iñaki Martínez de Albeniz Boom! Gastronomy is everywhere A FULL MOUTH: GASTRONOMY AND COMMUNICATION Shared secrets From the recipe to the YouTube tutorial Neocritics Are you on the list? Foodie time A cooking show Celebrities or brands? The pollinating force of stagiers A country brand Shared talk PARTICLES IN MOTION: GASTRONOMIC ACTIVISM A social movement Uncovered truths About heroes and villains Waste Chefs today Women too Junk food? Reconnecting with nature The consequences of eating Back to cooking 5 TO KNOW OR NOT TO KNOW: SCIENCE AND GASTRONOMY THE GASTRONOMIC EXPERIENCE The answers behind the kitchen Food Technology in time An infinite plate Science at home Interconnected senses Sensory approaches Naked table Techno-emotions The dining room Open-door cuisine Stories à la carte Summa Cum Laude gastronomy Eating socially Edible algorithms Edible landscapes Creative triangle Luxury: between the old and the new Believe it or not Where does the experience end? Spyglass: tasting the future VALUE SUPPLIED IN CHAIN: ENTREPRENEURSHIP, CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION Action! Balance (Ecosystems) Management of contradictions (Food Production) Transparency (Food industry) Short distance (Marketing and Distribution) Diversifying models (The Restaurant Business) Profitable authenticity (Tourism) Research and development (Knowledge) Prosuming (Consumption) Conscious frameworks (Regulations) Forever New Basque Cuisine 6 7 INTRODUCTION Gastronomy today is a multidimensional phenomenon. There is no aspect of reality -economic, social, cultural, or even political- that does not crosses the spectrum of what we eat. It is at this intersection that the Basque Culinary Center (BCC) comes into play, as it uniquely embodies the scope, complexity and wealth of a word full of significance as gastronomy. It is vital for us to fully assimilate what happens in our sector, not only to absorb and take part in our surrounding environment, but also to propose innovative initiatives aligned with present-day demands and the challenges and opportunities ahead. We are determined to connect with developments in every arena. We understand that it is our duty to accompany gastronomy’s unfolding path, promote it from an interdisciplinary perspective, and delve deeper. Nine years ago, a group of Basque chefs and Mondragón University created the Basque Culinary Center Foundation with support from public institutions and the goal of establishing a pioneering center for higher education to offer the kind of professional training the gastronomy sector demanded and deserved. With the objective of consolidating an increasingly skilled, responsible and dedicated guild, the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences and the Research and Innovation Center were founded. Since our founding, our driving motivation has been to train versatile professionals capable of immersing themselves in the movement of gastronomy and succeeding in any culinary field. At present, our Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences welcomes students from 32 countries. Every year, a total of about 600 students enroll in our Degree in Gastronomy and Culinary Arts or one of our eight Master’s degree programs. In addition, another 2,000 students complete short-term courses that we continuously design for both professionals and enthusiasts. 8 9 Our Technology Center, on the other hand, focuses on research and innovation for In addition, another key factor for the BCC has been viewing gastronomy as a strategic product and service design in collaboration with a diverse range of companies. We sector. Gastronomy contributes economically and socially to an entire value chain, and organize and host around 100 events every year at our facilities. Our initiative “Culinary can serve as a springboard for the promotion of cultures and, therefore, of countries Action!” encourages and supports entrepreneurship and new businesses. Furthermore, as well. we also promote, in conjunction with the Basque regional government, initiatives such In this sense, gastronomy is a country-brand. It adds value to products from a certain as the Basque Culinary World Prize. place and to the products’ transformation as well. It encompasses all actors from the Four years ago, after intense internal reflection based on our past experiences, hotel and restaurant industry and activates tourism. All this explains why more and we realized that our mission should focus on developing the economic and social more countries are conscientiously investing in gastronomy: they understand the potential of gastronomy, which involves taking on the challenge of endowing this word power of gastronomy to attract visitors interested in experiences that only gastronomy -gastronomy- with meaning that, while reflecting the current reality, does not refer can offer in such special ways. exclusively to cuisine. Until not long ago, when the topic of gastronomy came up, it Gastronomy is also part of cultural and creative industries. In the gastronomy sector, was primarily associated with fine dining. This association, however, has changed. innovative chefs and entrepreneurs spark trends and change what we eat and how we The concept of gastronomy has expanded by leaps and bounds and has also been eat it. A sector of such dimensions and vitality needs entities dedicated to research, democratized. training, dissemination and innovation. In other economic and professional sectors, The BCC was fortunate to foresee the exponential potential of gastronomy in a rapidly such institutions already exist. In gastronomy, however, they are few and far between. evolving landscape. Furthermore and most importantly, the BCC has taken this vision The BCC is able to tackle this challenge thanks to the key contributions of many people, to heart in its activities and become an active agent for and promoter of this new way including the members of our Board of Trustees, which consists of public institutions, of understanding and living gastronomy. private businesses, universities, technological centers, and a group of inspired Basque A truly tangible example of this is the Basque Culinary World Prize, which was created chefs. These chefs are leaders in their profession who have demonstrated what it in conjunction with the Basque regional government. This award is bestowed upon means to innovate a country’s culinary tradition through cooperative work. Likewise, chefs with transformative initiatives to celebrate how chefs from around the world the chefs who comprise our International Council have also managed to transform the use their unique knowledge, leadership, entrepreneurial skills and creativity to effect cultures, images and gastronomic landscapes of their countries and regions. The work change in areas such as health, education, the environment, economic development, of the Basque Culinary Center is made possible by an entire community of passionate innovation, industry or even humanitarian action and public policy. and dedicated people who demonstrate everyday what excellence and authenticity can offer. Since the launch of this award in 2016, it has been inspiring to discover hundreds of hard-working entrepreneur-chefs focused on excellence. These are innovative and Thanks to the dedication of all these collaborators, the Basque Culinary Center takes on creative people who go against the grain. They are tenacious or even reckless but, its mission with a strong sense of responsibility, realizing that it is our duty to educate above all, they are committed to effecting positive change in their environment. future generations according to our vision and the values inherent to it. 10 11 Thus, we embark on a project titled 50“ glimpses” that aspires to use original content to The New Basque Cuisine reinvigorates the ongoing development of traditional and connect the multidimensional worlds within gastronomy, and empower them and instill modern Basque cuisine. An outstanding and like-minded group of chefs, led by them with movement – even more movement. Juan Mari Arzak and Pedro Subijana, were joined by countless others and made the emergence of a new generation of chefs possible: Hilario Arbelaitz, Martín Berasategui, Working with the talented people at the Basque Culinary Center has been extremely Andoni Luis Aduriz, Eneko Atxa, Elena Arzak, and more. Together, these chefs formed stimulating for this story. BCC students, professors and close collaborators accompanied a collective movement and transformed Basque cuisine into a point of reference for the curators of this project in a creative and interdisciplinary initiative. It is our hope modern gastronomy and creative regions as well. that whoever reads this text or visits the exhibition finds the experience as fascinating as it has been for us. Therefore, we consider the New Basque Cuisine to be a milestone, and a starting point for research and reflection. Let us not forget the values that have characterized the 50 glimpses also aims to experiment with language and with how to make gastronomy emergence and evolution of Basque cuisine: identity,