Eneko Atxa Azurmendi (born September 14, 1977) is a Spanish

Basque cuisine Basque cuisine refers to the cuisine of the Basque Country and includes meats and fish grilled over hot coals, ''marmitako'' and lamb stews, cod, Tolosa bean dishes, paprikas from Lekeitio, '' pintxos'' (Basque ''tapas)'', Idiazabal sheep's c ...

chef, known for his

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

practices.

Career

Eneko started in the

culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of outline of food preparation, food preparation, cooking and food presentation, presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as res ...

world at the age of 15 at the Culinary School of Leioa in

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, but was initially trained by his mother and grandmother. He combined his study time with work at restaurant where he learned traditional Basque cuisine. Later he worked for several restaurants. After this apprenticeship, he moved on to the most prestigious restaurants consolidating his own personality and style. In 2005, after several head chefs in renowned restaurants, he decided to open his own restaurant: Azurmendi*** (also known as Azurmedi***). In 2012, Azurmendi*** was awarded 3 Michelin stars, becoming the first and only restaurant in Biscay to obtain this distinction. This makes Eneko Atxa, at 35, one of the youngest chefs in Spain to achieve three stars. Azurmendi, with three Michelin stars and one green star, has twice been awarded the "most sustainable restaurant" in The World's 50 Best list. In 2012, he finished a

bioclimatic building Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from plannin ...

for his restaurant using

recycled Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

materials (

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

, glass, plastic and

slag Slag is a by-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-prod ...

) and

renewable energy systems The RES Group (Renewable Energy Systems) is a global renewable energy company which has been active in the renewable energy industry for over 30 years. Its core business is to develop, construct and operate large-scale, grid-connected renewable ...

(which has resulted in 50% energy savings).

Geothermal energy Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth's crust which originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal proportions. The high temperature and pres ...

and

photovoltaic solar panel A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physics, physical and Chemical substance, chemical phenomenon.rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

water is used for all

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

/bathroom needs. In conjunction with the Alicia Foundation and

University of the Basque Country The University of the Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, ''EHU''; es, Universidad del País Vasco, ''UPV''; UPV/EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Autonomous Community. Heir of the University of Bilbao, initially ...

, he is working on germplasm bank, which is expected to host 400+ local

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

seed varieties, with an emphasis on teaching about the value of

genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, it ranges widely from the number of species to differences within species and can be attributed to the span of survival for a species. It is dis ...

preservation. Located in the Interpretation Center for Sustainability of Azurmendi it was promoted by the City Council of

Larrabetzu Larrabetzu is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg ...

as a way of establishing a circular economic system, with the use of a generated

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...

by local

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

s that acts as a land fertilizer. In 2016, Atxa created JAKI(N), an "incubator of innovative ideas" used to promote actions related to people, the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

, health and society. In 2019 he created, together with Xabi Uribe-Etxebarria, the Bestfarmers initiative: a project to give visibility and value to producers, encouraging and rewarding sustainable farming practices

Awards

*Signature Cuisine Champion of Spain for Young Chefs in 2003 * The Haute Cuisine for Young Chefs Award (Lo Mejor de la Gastronomia) in 2004 * Opening of Azurmendi in 2005 * Best Newcomer Restaurant in Madrid Fusión in 2006 * First Michelin star for Azurmendi in 2007 * Euskadi Award for Best Chef of the Year in 2007 * Healthy Cuisine Award from the Galician Gastronomic Forum in 2008 * Second Michelin star for Azurmendi in 2010 * The Prix du Chef L'Avenir (International Academy of Gastronomy) in 2010 * 3 Michelín Stars for Azurmendi (2012) * Azurmendi is named the Best Restaurant in Europe by Opinionated About Dining (OAD) in 2015 * Young Chef of the Year (Elite Traveler) in 2015 * World's Most Sustainable Restaurant Award (World's 50 Best Restaurants/Sustainable Restaurant Association) 2014 and 2018. * Eneko Atxa wins the 2015 National Gastronomy Award for Best Chef in 2016. That year Azurmendi is named tenth best restaurant in the world by Tripadvisor and also received the National Award for Hospitality Company committed to Sustainability by the Federation of Hospitality Companies of Spain. The publication 'Fuera de Serie', from the 'Unidad Editorial' group, has chosen Eneko Atxa as one of the people of the year 2016, in the

gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well versed in gastr ...

category. * ENEKO restaurant is recognized with a Michelin star (2017). Azurmendi is the Best restaurant in the world according to Elite Traveler magazine Eneko Atxa wins the GQ Businessman of the Year Award. * 2019: Westholme Highest Climber Award (World's 50 Best Restaurants) 14th place. Eneko Atxa wins Best Chef Award 2019 in Europe by Madrid Fusion. Eneko Atxa wins the National Prize for Healthy Gastronomy to the Most Outstanding Personality 2018. * 2020: Azurmendi and ENEKO win a Green Michelin star * 2021: Eneko Atxa wins the first 'Sustainable Sun' Award from the Repsol Guide. Azurmendi wins the Sustainability Award from Madrid Fusión. * 2022: Eneko Atxa receives the 'MadBlue Cinco Océanos' 2022 Award for his work in sustainability and the Sustainability award from Gentleman magazine.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atxa, Eneko 1977 births Living people Basque cuisine Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants People from Amorebieta-Etxano Spanish chefs