The centre is a global benchmark for training, research and promotion
Joxe Mari Aizega, Managing Director of the Basque Culinary Center, welcomed the Leaders to this world-class academic institution, home to some of the best Basque chefs, leading companies in the food sector, a technology centre specialising in marine and food innovation (AZTI) and Mondragon Unibertsitatea.
Since its creation in 2011, the BCC has been striving to become a global benchmark for training, research, innovation and promotion of gastronomy and nutrition. It has workshops, an auditorium, a research centre and experimental workshops used by gastronomy lovers and hospitality professionals studying for professional postgraduate programmes and the official university degree in Gastronomy.
For its Managing Director, the Basque Culinary Center’s main virtue is the ecosystem that has been created in the past five years, comprising its Gastronomy Science Faculty as well as a research centre and various events and promotions. According to Joxe Mari Aizega, the Basque Culinary Center “connects gastronomy with culture, science and health”.
Its versatile nature is what makes it absolutely unique. It was created thanks to the efforts of several renowned Basque chefs such as Juan Mari Arzak, Pedro Subijana and Martín Berasategui, who insisted on the creation of a new centre. San Sebastián was the right place for its headquarters given its strong gastronomic history and the number of renowned chefs in the city.
Over 560 international students pursue degrees and postgraduate courses at the centre. Demand is high, and generally only one in four applications is successful, based on criteria such as languages spoken, academic record, skills and motivation. There are also workshops and summer courses for food lovers and Australians are among its biggest fans, surpassed in number only by Spanish, French and Japanese students.
What sets BCC apart from other renowned institutions is its innovation and research centre, which carries out studies on healthy living, sensorial analysis, preservation and additives, hospitality and catering equipment either alone or jointly with international companies, with a view to promoting entrepreneurship and the creation of new gastronomy and agri-food companies.
The Leaders, together with their hosts, analysed the phenomenon of gastronomy, which is hugely popular at present among all social strata and generates a great deal of interest. An example of this success are TV shows such as MasterChef and MasterChef Junior; the Basque Culinary Center takes part in the Spanish editions of these shows. Laurel Papworth, an expert in social media, has worked managing large online communities including one of the English-speaking editions of MasterChef.
The tour also included the kitchens and workshops, where BCC students design end-to-end restaurant projects, from the original idea and the menus to the décor and the website. After that, the Leaders tasted Basque Culinary Center specialties, comprised of modern interpretations of typical Basque dishes featuring seafood, meat, innovative recipes and bold ingredients. In short, a perfect sample of the avant-garde work undertaken in the Center’s classrooms which made sure the Leaders’ visit to San Sebastian was nothing short of mouth-watering.
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