![San Sebastian 06 2012 Basque Culinary Center 2573](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/San_Sebastian_06_2012_Basque_Culinary_Center_2573.JPG)
The Basque Culinary Center, based in
San Sebastián
San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
, in the
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
region of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, is a culinary foundation created in 2009 by
Mondragon University
Mondragon University ( eu, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, MU) is a non-profit cooperative private university in the Basque Country, officially established and recognised in 1997. It is part of Mondragon Corporation. Its main campus is in Mondragón ...
and a group of prominent
Basque chefs as a training, research and innovation project, aimed at developing the culinary sector, with the idea of relating cooking with management, science and other disciplines.
The Basque Culinary Center consists of two lines of work: the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences within
Mondragon University
Mondragon University ( eu, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, MU) is a non-profit cooperative private university in the Basque Country, officially established and recognised in 1997. It is part of Mondragon Corporation. Its main campus is in Mondragón ...
, the first to offer official university-level training in the gastronomy sector in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, and a Research and Innovation Centre in the field of Food and Gastronomy. The institution's campus was inaugurated in October 2011.
Organization and structure
The Board
The Board of the Basque Culinary Center foundation is made up of the chefs who played an active role in launching the initiative and continue to be closely linked to the project (among them
Juan Mari Arzak
Juan Mari Arzak Arratibel (born July 31, 1942) is a Spanish chef, the owner and chef for Arzak restaurant. He is considered to be one of the great masters of New Basque cuisine. He describes his cooking as "signature cuisine, Basque cuisine ...
,
Martin Berasategui, Pedro Subijana,
Karlos Arguiñano
Karlos Arguiñano UrkiolaNote the mixed spelling of his name. ''Karlos'' and ''Urkiola'' are spelled in Basque language, Basque, not the Spanish ''Carlos (given name), Carlos'' and ''Urquiola'', but ''Arguiñano'' is spelled in Spanish, not the B ...
, Andoni Luis Aduriz, Hilario Arbelaitz and Eneko Atxa); institutions in the knowledge sector,
Mondragon University
Mondragon University ( eu, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, MU) is a non-profit cooperative private university in the Basque Country, officially established and recognised in 1997. It is part of Mondragon Corporation. Its main campus is in Mondragón ...
and the AZTI-Tecnalia technology centre; public bodies including the
Basque Government
The Basque Government ( eu, Eusko Jaurlaritza, es, Gobierno Vasco) is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of the Basque government is known as the ''Lehendakari''. The Lehendakari is appointed by the Basque P ...
, the Provincial Council of
Gipuzkoa
Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...
and the City Council of
San Sebastián
San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
; and leading companies in the food and drinks industry:
Fagor
Fagor Electrodoméstico was a large domestic and commercial appliance manufacturer based in the Basque Country, Spain and run by the Mondragon Corporation. Fagor was Spain's largest consumer appliance company and the fifth largest electrical ap ...
,
Eroski
Eroski is a Spanish supermarket chain with nearly 1,000 outlets spread across Spain (excluding franchises).
It is run as a worker-consumer hybrid co-operative within the Mondragón Corporation group.
The establishments vary in size from the la ...
, Martiko,
Heineken
Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star.
History
On 15 Febr ...
, Covap,
Pernod Ricard
Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or ''Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...
-Domecq Bodegas and
D.O. La Rioja.
The International Advisory Committee
The Basque Culinary Center foundation also has an International Advisory Committee, chaired by
Ferran Adrià
Ferran Adrià i Acosta (; born 14 May 1962) is a Spanish chef. He was the head chef of the ''El Bulli'' restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava and is considered one of the best chefs in the world. He has often collaborated with his brother, the ...
and made up of some prominent international chefs. Among them are Yukio Hattori (Japan),
Massimo Bottura
Massimo Bottura (; born 30 September 1962) is an Italian restaurateur and the chef patron of Osteria Francescana, a three-Michelin-star restaurant based in Modena
Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; et ...
(Italy),
Michel Bras
Michel Bras (born 4 November 1946) is a French chef. His restaurant located in Laguiole in the Aveyron was rated three stars in the Guide Michelin since 1999. It is also classed in the "Relais & Châteaux" since 1992. He was classed several time ...
(France),
Dan Barber
Dan Barber (born October 2, 1969) is the chef and co-owner of Blue Hill in Manhattan and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York, United States. He is the author of ''The Third Plate''.
Education
He is a 1992 graduate of Tufts Un ...
(United States),
Gastón Acurio
Gastón Acurio Jaramillo (born October 30, 1967) is a Peruvian chef and ambassador of Peruvian cuisine. He owns several restaurants in various countries, and is the author of several books. In Peru, he is the host of a television program and ...
(Peru),
Alex Atala
Milad Alexandre Mack Atala (born June 3, 1968) is a Brazilian chef of Irish and Palestinian ancestry, who runs the restaurant D.O.M. (Latin abbreviation of ''Deo optimo maximo'') in São Paulo. In May 2012, D.O.M. was rated the 4th best restaura ...
(Brazil),
Heston Blumenthal
Heston Marc Blumenthal (; born 27 May 1966) is a British celebrity chef, TV personality and food writer. Blumenthal is regarded as a pioneer of multi-sensory cooking, food pairing and flavour encapsulation. He came to public attention with un ...
(United Kingdom) and
René Redzepi
René Redzepi (born 16 December 1977) is a Danish chef and co-owner of the three-Michelin star restaurant Noma in the Christianshavn neighborhood of Copenhagen, Denmark. His restaurant was voted the best restaurant in the world by ''Restaurant' ...
(Denmark). The purpose of this body is to advise the board of the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences and the Research and Innovation Centre on strategic matters, and to raise the international profile of the Basque Culinary Center.
This group of top chefs met in
San Sebastián
San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
in July 2010, to set up the International Advisory Committee. There they held their first work day to discuss key issues for the international gastronomic sector and culinary training for the professionals of the 21st century. In September 2011 the Committee held its second meeting in
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
. This produced a body of work and reflections set down in the document “Open Letter to the Chefs of the Future”. A year later, the chefs held their third meeting in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, where they assessed the progress of modern cooking, the interdisciplinary nature of the chef’s profession and the use of information technology. The committee has held further annual meetings in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
(2013),
Sao Paulo
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
(2014), San Sebastián (2015 and 2016), and
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
(2017).
Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences
The Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences of the Basque Culinary Center is a part of
Mondragon University
Mondragon University ( eu, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, MU) is a non-profit cooperative private university in the Basque Country, officially established and recognised in 1997. It is part of Mondragon Corporation. Its main campus is in Mondragón ...
, which in itself represented a milestone: the inclusion of culinary training in a university setting. Prior to the launch of this project, there was no official university-level training in the gastronomy sector on offer in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, and the only precedent in Europe was the
University of Gastronomic Sciences
The University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG) is an international university located in northern Italy. The campus is in Pollenzo, near Bra, a city in the north-west region of Piedmont. Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food Movement, establish ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. After the establishment of the Basque Culinary Center, other universities in Spain, namely the
University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...
and the
University of Valencia
The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...
, included official degrees on gastronomy.
The faculty offers a Degree in Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, postgraduate programmes, and different programmes for professionals and gastronomy enthusiasts.
As of 2015, 50% of the faculty's students are international, 25% in the case of the university degree.
Degree in Gastronomy and Culinary Arts
The Degree in Gastronomy and Culinary Arts is an official four-year university degree, adapted to the
European Higher Education Area
The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was launched in March 2010, during the Budapest-Vienna Ministerial Conference, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Bologna Process.
As the main objective of the Bologna Process since its ince ...
.
The degree is based on five broad areas of knowledge, with the aim of guaranteeing an up-to-date training for professionals in the sector: Cooking, Service, Management, Science and Culture. The Basque Culinary Center’s Gastronomy and Culinary Arts degree programme aims to assure a comprehensive training for professionals in the gastronomic sector so that, in the future, they are able to work in areas like the kitchen and the dining room, but also in industry, research or business management. Right from the first year, students combine theory and practice in the kitchen, dining room and management areas.
The first promotion of 59 students graduated in July 2015.
Postgraduate programmes
In addition to the Degree in Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences at the Basque Culinary Center also offers postgraduate programmes which differentiate between kitchen specialists and those from other sectors who aim to specialise in the field of gastronomy. These include:
*''Master's Degree in Gastronomic Sciences''
*''Master's Degree in Food Tourism''
*''Master's Degree in Sommelier Studies and Enomarketing''
*''Master's Degree in Advanced Cookery''
*''Master's Degree in Restaurant Innovation and Management''
*''Master's Degree in Restaurant Pastry and Sweet Cuisine''
*''Master's Degree in Cooking: Technique, Product and Creativity''
*''Specialisation Course in Bartender Expertise and Modern Cocktail Preparation''
*''Specialisation Course in Creation of Avant-Garde Desserts, Snacks and Sweet Tapas''
*''Specialisation Course in Perfecting Culinary Techniques''
*''Specialisation Course in Avant-Garde Culinary Techniques''
Other courses for continuous training are offered to professionals.
Programmes for gastronomy enthusiasts
In addition to the training programmes for professionals, the Basque Culinary Center offers a range of courses for gastronomy enthusiasts.
The centre carries on these activities through the BCulinary Club, set up as a space for gastronomy enthusiasts, featuring talks, courses, cookery classes and recipes.
Furthermore, the Basque Culinary Center organises BCulinary Udan, a summer gastronomy camp for teenagers aged from 14 to 17.
Food and Gastronomy Research and Innovation Centre
Alongside the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences, the Basque Culinary Center has the Food and Gastronomy Research and Innovation Centre.
Its purpose is to generate new scientific knowledge and innovative products in the culinary sphere, including food, hotels and gastronomy. This means that the areas of knowledge involved in the sector can be expanded with new knowledge which can generate new products, new services and new businesses. Experimentation and research goes on at this centre using a multidisciplinary approach with the aim of achieving advances in the following areas, among others:
*''Research, Development and Innovation (RDI)'': The research work done at this Centre aims to give greater added value to current products and services, in order to foster their differentiation on the market and encourage the creation of new businesses, products and services in the areas of food, HORECA, healthcare, healthy nutrition, social innovation in ageing and tourism, among others.
*''Quality'': Regaining the concept of gastronomy, a sense of pleasure and the importance of quality labels are declared priorities for this Centre, as is the need to raise awareness in the culinary sector and in society in general of the importance of quality and authenticity. These ideas aim to improve performance in the sector and encourage more sophisticated, demanding customers. This line of work in raising awareness among the population also aims to improve results in terms of preventing health risks.
*''Synergies and cooperation'': The existence of a specific centre linked to gastronomy intends to generate synergies and new areas of cooperation with other technology centres, especially Azti-Tecnalia and CSIC, the
Spanish National Research Council
The Spanish National Research Council ( es, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote res ...
, and European centres and universities, as well as with companies in the sector. In practice, new areas of research and work emerge, so that technology transfer can enrich projects.
Cafeteria
![San Sebastian 06 2012 Basque Culinary Center 2541](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/San_Sebastian_06_2012_Basque_Culinary_Center_2541.jpg)
The centre has a cafeteria, which in practice functions as the training workshop for students on the Degree in Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, where they can put what they learn in class into practice with real customers, in both the kitchen and the dining room. This cafeteria is open to the public and serves two meals per day.
References
External links
Official siteFacebook
{{authority control
Basque Culinary Centre
Educational institutions established in 2009
Education in the Basque Country (autonomous community)
Universities and colleges in Spain
2009 establishments in Spain
Buildings and structures in Gipuzkoa
San Sebastián