03-08-2018
The Basque Vice Minister was welcomed in Modena by Massimo Bottura, for the eighth annual meeting of the International Council of the Basque Culinary Center and for the third edition of the Basque Culinary World Prize
Only a few days ago, in Modena, as we wrote here, some of the most prominent and enlightened members of world gastronomy (and not only of gastronomy, but of art and culture too), were summoned for the third edition of the Basque Culinary World Prize, the international award that goes to chefs with projects that aim to transform society in a positive way.
The award was established by the Basque Government and is organised and run by the Basque Culinary Center, one of the most influential academic institutions in the world of gastronomy: a very imposing investment, in terms of project and finances, that shows how Basque institutions have a sincere and concrete interest in cuisine and diet.
As media partners of this third edition of the Basque Culinary World Prize we met Bittor Oroz, Vice Minister for Agriculture, Fishery and Food Policies of the Basque Government. It was interesting, and dutiful, to give space and visibility to government institutions that, unlike what happens in many other countries, work concretely to support gastronomy, acknowledging its social and cultural value. And, as foreseen by Paolo Marchi in his piece presenting the Basque Culinary World Prize, we met a very passionate and competent person.
Bittor Oroz on the stage of the Basque Culinary World Prize 2018
Why so? What are the consequences of this different point of view? Food chain is made of four macro-entities. We have farmers, breeders, fishermen: they are direct producers. Then there’s the food industry, which transforms raw materials, and is not very developed in the Basque Country where it still has a very artisanal character. Then there’s the trade multi-channel industry, those who sell food products, from small markets and shops, to large retail chains. The fourth entity, for us, is made of cooks: creating a dialogue between all four of these entities creates huge advantages for everyone.
In which way can male and female chefs contribute in this improvement for the community? When we started discussing these goals, we realised that people listen to our chefs, that there’s a great transforming power in gastronomy. The key figures in our cuisine - such as Andoni Luis Aduriz, Elena and Juan Mari Arzak, Pedro Subijana, Eneko Atxa, Martìn Berasategui – have huge authority and influence, they arrive everywhere. There are various social matters in which they can be useful.
A group photo with the chefs at the third Basque Culinary World Prize
You started from a local dimension, the Basque Country, but chose to look at the entire world. Why so? When we got the idea of creating a prize, we decided to consider the rest of the world because we knew we needed some positive examples to inspire us, examples of social and economic transformation through gastronomy. From the first edition, results proved we were right, because we immediately received projects that considered very different aspects of society. Then we came across examples that are truly inspiring, such as María Fernanda Di Giacobbe, the first winner, who by working with cocoa has created real opportunity for Venezuelan women who suffer vulnerable economic conditions. Or Leonor Espinosa, with his extraordinary project supporting biodiversity and small producers from the forests of Colombia. We hope all this will spread like wild fire, we hope that many people will take on the baton. As Basque Government, we believe gastronomy can be one of the driving forces in social transformation and we think that to obtain this result we must work by creating global networks, promoting the many realities that operate locally.
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
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Journalist, based in Milan. At 8 years old, he received a Springsteen record as a gift, and nothing was the same since. Music and food are his passions. Author and broadcaster at Radio Popolare since 1997, since 2014 he became part of the staff of Identità Golose Instagram: @NiccoloVecchia