Archives: Finalistas

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Selassie Atadika

Selassie is opening doors of opportunity for Ghana through food. After spending a decade working for the UN – she holds a degree in International Affairs from Columbia University– Selassie jumped into the kitchen to explore how food could tackle social challenges, eventually graduating from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). She returned to Africa… Read more »

Giovanni Cuocci

On the outskirts of Modena, Cuocci uses cooking to care for his region and the people around him. In his restaurant-farm La lanterna di Diogene he partners with people with intellectual disabilities, who grow, prepare and serve the very best of Emilia Romagna’s artisanal cuisine.  This inspiring and innovative gastronomic-social cooperative transforms food not only into… Read more »

Xanty Elías

The chef of Acánthum, the only restaurant in Huelva (Spain) to boast a Michelin star, is fully committed to developing his region. As president of the Prenauta Foundation, he is an advocate for tourism, innovation and entrepreneurship in the restaurant sector. In order to promote food education, he has launched Los Niños se Comen el… Read more »

Lars Williams

Lars Williams, the Copenhagen-based former Head of Research and Development at the Nordic Food Lab, illustrates a novel approach to innovation. Through the eyes of a chef, he transposes culinary concepts to the world of distilled spirits at the company Empirical Spirits. The business aims to “capture flavors from around the world” through cutting-edge distillation… Read more »

Mario Castrellón

Mario Castrellón internationally promotes Panama’s under-explored gastronomic culture. Through his role as an entrepreneur, he creates opportunities for social development in coffee-farming communities. Today these communities produce Geisha, one of the most exclusive and coveted coffee varieties in the world. Yet, the benefits do not translate into lower poverty rates or higher productivity. The Maíto… Read more »

Douglas McMaster

Through Silo, the first zero-waste restaurant in the United Kingdom, Douglas has spearheaded a movement that is now an international phenomenon. He draws inspiration from the “pre-industrial food system”, a concept that is motivating young chefs around the world. This approach allows nothing to go to waste: instead, everything is reused. He advocates for ‘upcycling’… Read more »

Siew-Chinn Chin

Siew-Chinn Chin has devoted her career to promoting organic and healthy eating habits in the US, advocating for a paradigm shift away from fast food culture. Through initiatives such as The Charlie Cart Project the Malaysian-born chef plays a key role taking culinary training across the country: using a fully-equipped mobile kitchen and dozens of… Read more »

Cristina Martinez

In the United States, the fear of deportation silences more than one million undocumented workers a year; and yet, in Philadelphia, this Mexican chef is leveraging the success of her South Philly Barbacue restaurant (among the best openings of 2016, according to Bon Appètit) to give voice to the controversial struggle of those who work… Read more »

Ebru Baybara Demir

In Turkey, the country that has taken in more Syrian refugees than any other (more than 3.5 million people), this indefatigable chef uses gastronomy as a tool for integration. Through her work, Baybara Demir empowers women of both countries and dismantles prejudices, enhancing the richness of the cultural exchange. Her latest project, “From Soil to… Read more »

Virgilio Martinez

At Central in Lima, Virgilio Martinez pushed Peruvian cuisine to unexpected limits with a perspective that exposed it to innovation and exploration, built upon the work of Mater Iniciativa, a multi-disciplinary platform that dives into one of the world’s greatest biodiversities under the premise of “afuera hay más” (‘there’s more outside’). With Mil, his most… Read more »