Among the many awards honoring chefs' prowess in the kitchen, the Basque Culinary World Prize is an annual global prize that stands out by focusing on the initiatives of cooks who put themselves at the service of society or the environment -- like the project helmed by Fatmata Binta, winner of this year's prize.
They might not have developed revolutionary cooking techniques or invented recipes that will become legendary in their country's culinary repertoire, yet the winners of the Basque World Culinary Prize will go down in the history of world gastronomy. Because these committed chefs use cooking not as an art form, but rather as a means to change society, whether on an environmental or social level.
Take the 2022 winner. Originally from Sierra Leone, Fatmata Binta was born into the Fulani, the largest nomadic tribe in Africa. After a career in international relations, the young woman decided to devote herself fully to the recognition of her culture. She created Fulani Kitchen, a concept of pop-up restaurants that invite customers to take off their shoes and eat with their fingers to discover the customs of the Fulani people. On the menu are West African ingredients such as millet, dawadawa, egusi, okra and baobab. Fatmata Binta has also launched a foundation in Ghana that gives women the opportunity to own land. They can also grow and sell fonio, a herbaceous plant common in West Africa.
Rethinking tomorrow's world through cooking
The Basque Culinary Center, which launched this €100,000 prize, explains that it is envisioning cooking as a means to advance society in areas ranging from social innovation to food education. This is the underlying premise of this international award that has earned the nickname of the "Nobel Prize of Gastronomy," since its launch in 2016, supported by world-renowned chefs such as Spain's Joan Roca and the Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio.
A major concern in public health issues, food education is one of the themes widely reflected by the Basque Culinary World Prize winners. Last year, the organization shone the spotlight on the foundation of the Spanish chef Xanty Elias, whose objective is to teach new generations how to compose healthy menus. An initiative that is particularly important in a country where childhood obesity is a serious problem, with more than 23% of children aged six to nine years overweight and 17.3% obese, according to a 2019 study.
The Basque World Culinary Prize also highlights the urgent need to reduce the carbon footprint our food consumption leaves on the planet. In this sense, the 2019 award saluted the work of the Californian chef Anthony Myint, who is behind the "ZeroFoodPrint" initiative. This involves collecting 1% from diners' checks in restaurants adhering to the system. The funds are donated to farmers to help them implement environmentally friendly practices -- the goal is to encourage the deployment of regenerative agriculture, an agricultural concept echoing permaculture that encourages producers to prefer farming and grazing practices that allow the carbon dioxide contained in the atmosphere to be stored in the soil.
With each edition of the award, winners are chosen by a panel of chefs whose high-profile careers have become a reference for all generations. This year, for example, Dominique Crenn, Michel Bras, Mauro Colagreco, Enrique Olvera, are all judges
