General
What is the Basque Culinary World Prize?
The Basque Culinary World Prize (BCWP) is an international award created to recognise people who transform the world through gastronomy. Each edition, it selects a winner from among hundreds of nominees linked to specific initiatives whose impact is evident in areas such as innovation, health, nutrition, education, the environment, social development, or actions that positively affect society at large. The recipient receives €100,000, which must be allocated to a project that demonstrates the multiplying and transformative power of gastronomy.
Since its founding in 2016, BCWP recognised chefs who expanded the reach of cooking beyond the restaurant. From 2026 onwards, the prize evolves to identify and honour professionals connected to gastronomy — beyond the strictly culinary sphere — with projects where food serves as an inspiring and important driver of change.
It has been promoted since 2016 by Basque Culinary Center (BCC) and the Basque Government, and is backed by some of the world’s most prestigious chefs.
Who can be nominated?
Men and women leading tangible transformations, of any nationality or cultural background, whose work demonstrates the potential of food and cooking as a tool for social impact.
The Basque Culinary World Prize recognises individuals with outstanding track records and/or initiatives in areas ranging from social development, innovation, research, education, nutrition, the environment and creativity — whether through self-initiated foundations or specific projects, or through a prominent role within a collective with demonstrable impact.
Nominees may equally be considered for a diverse but sustained body of work over time. What matters to BCWP is bearing witness to how gastronomy can constitute a transformative force in the world today.
Where can I submit a nomination?
Nominations are submitted through the website: www.basqueculinaryworldprize.com
Does the number of nominations a candidate receives affect the outcome?
No. A single strong nomination is enough for a candidate to be considered by the BCWP technical committee and to move through the process to the jury.
What does the winner receive?
The prize is endowed with €100,000. The winner must allocate the full amount to a project that demonstrates the multiplying and transformative power of gastronomy.
What is the value of this initiative?
Described by specialist critics as the Nobel Prize of Gastronomy, BCWP launches its eleventh edition as a pioneering and visionary prize backed by the world’s finest chefs and culinary leaders. As such, BCWP has become the most authoritative recognition for those who champion gastronomy’s capacity to generate meaningful impact in society.
The evidence gathered through more than 1,200 nominations and over 800 nominees confirms the scale of a multiplying phenomenon: all over the world, people are using their knowledge, talent, creativity and leadership to connect gastronomy to topics such as innovation, education, sustainability, the environment, social development, health and technology, among many others.
What do we mean by people with ‘transformative initiatives’?
BCWP seeks to identify individuals with a transformative vocation whose work drives meaningful change in areas such as education, health, nutrition, the environment, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, industry, or social and economic development, among others. It looks for professionals who, across all borders, use their knowledge, creativity and leadership to influence society in a positive way through food or cooking.
What is the Basque Culinary World Prize not?
It is not a prize exclusively for collectives — it is awarded each year to an individual. From 2026, candidates are considered either for leading their own projects or for playing a special role within a team or collective effort with demonstrable impact.
Nor is it a prize for charitable or purely assistance-based projects: the transformation a person is capable of generating is not limited to philanthropy or the merely social. We understand this to be a broad, diverse and multiplying phenomenon.
BCWP is not a prize exclusively for well-known figures or those with high public profiles: it does not seek to reward the most famous or the ‘greatest’. All nominated candidates are considered equally, regardless of their origin or public standing. The key is the force with which they demonstrate, through concrete actions, gastronomy’s transformative capacity.
Finally, BCWP is not a prize for future projects: it focuses on the consistent, sustained work that professionals are already developing, paying attention to the reach already achieved by their actions and the multiplying effect that receiving this recognition may have.
What is the prize timeline?
The nomination period runs from XXX. Nominations are first reviewed by the BCWP technical secretariat. Subsequently, the BCWP jury — composed of chefs and interdisciplinary experts — will deliberate and select the winner by majority vote. The jury will meet during the first week of November in Curitiba, Brazil. The award ceremony will take place in December in the Basque Country.
Who promotes the prize?
The prize is awarded by Basque Culinary Center (BCC) and the Basque Government. BCC was founded in 2011 with the support of some of the world’s most influential chefs, to promote education, research and innovation in gastronomy. Through this, BCC champions the prominent role that gastronomy can play as a transformative force in society.
The Basque Government promotes the prize within the framework of the Euskadi-Basque Country Strategy — a country brand supported by all Basque institutions, which promotes Euskadi through intrinsic values such as a culture of effort, commitment, the drive to overcome challenges, a vocation for transformation, and equal opportunities for men and women.
Is this an annually convened prize?
This is the eleventh consecutive edition of the prize. At the close of each edition, a new schedule will be evaluated.
Who finances the prize?
The prize is a public-private initiative that receives funding from the Basque Government.
What is the BCWP technical secretariat?
The technical secretariat is the body responsible for screening, researching, verifying and analysing the impact generated by the candidates nominated for the prize. It is made up of interdisciplinary professionals from Basque Culinary Center, and is also responsible for producing a report on the finalists to be considered by the jury in reaching its final decision.
What can and cannot the winner do with the €100,000?
The winner must allocate the full endowment to a single project that demonstrates the multiplying and transformative power of gastronomy.
The winner may not distribute the endowment indiscriminately: together with the prize organisers, the proposed project must be validated to ensure it reflects the prize’s values and meets the necessary criteria.
NOMINATION PROCESS AND EVALUATION
How does one nominate a candidate?
Nominations are submitted by completing a form accessible on the website: www.basqueculinaryworldprize.com
Who can nominate?
The knowledge of the gastronomic community — as a collective with strength and voice — is essential to uncovering individuals with transformative initiatives who may not be publicly known. We strongly encourage the participation of the sector in the nomination process.
What profile should be considered when nominating a candidate?
Individuals of any nationality may be nominated, either for a sustained body of work across their career or for specific initiatives. Candidates who lead their own projects are welcome, as are those who play a special role within a collective where food or cooking helps achieve social impact.
We are looking for transformative professionals: men and women of any nationality or cultural background whose work reflects how gastronomy can contribute to scientific or technological advances, how it can fight climate change, drive innovation, advance education or biodiversity, promote shifts in consumption, deepen social or economic progress, or stand alongside local producers, indigenous cultures and threatened identities in a globalised world, among many others.
Can a person nominate themselves for the prize?
No. Candidates must be nominated by active professionals working in the gastronomic sector, or by institutions and organisations within the sector.
Can candidates and finalists from previous editions be nominated again?
Yes, particularly if the nominee’s work has continued to generate advances that merit renewed consideration. The only exception is previous winners of the Basque Culinary World Prize — the same person cannot receive the prize twice.
What does BCWP do with the information provided by those who nominate?
Nominations are analysed and verified by the prize’s technical secretariat. Personal data relating to those who submit nominations is not shared with the jury. BCWP guarantees full confidentiality.
Can one person nominate more than one candidate?
Yes. A person may nominate as many candidates as they wish, provided they consider each to meet the prize’s criteria.
Do nominees have to work or have worked in a kitchen?
What matters is the way in which their work reflects the transformative reach of gastronomy as a driver of change.
How will the accuracy and rigour of the information provided about nominees be verified?
The BCWP technical secretariat will validate the information provided in each nomination. It will research and produce a detailed report with all the information necessary for the individual assessment of each candidacy.
Can members of the BCC Technical committee, International Council or the BCWP jury submit nominations?
No.
Can members of the BCC Technical committee, International Council or the BCWP jury be nominated for the prize?
No. All are excluded as involved parties.
THE JURY
Who makes up the jury in 2026?
The jury is composed of the members of the BCC International Council present at the meeting convened to select the winner, together with specially invited interdisciplinary experts.
How will the jury reach its decision?
The jury will deliberate in a closed session. From an interdisciplinary perspective, candidates will be assessed regardless of their public profile; their work, the relevance of their projects, the impact generated and the context in which they operate will all be considered. The winner will be selected by consensus. If consensus is not reached, the decision will be made by majority vote.
What qualifies the jury members to choose the winner of this prize?
The BCC International Council is itself the best example of how gastronomy can constitute a transformative force. Its members embody the vocation of this prize, having driven a different way of understanding the role of cooking in the world. For this reason, they are best placed to form a jury that also includes experts from other fields, enabling the winner to be chosen from a genuinely interdisciplinary perspective.
What happens if a jury member has a relationship with one of the finalists?
If a jury member has a relationship with a particular finalist, they must recuse themselves from the deliberation concerning that candidate.
THE PRIZE
Who can win the prize?
The prize can be won by any person linked to transformative initiatives where food or cooking positively impacts society, regardless of their public profile or origin. To be considered, candidates must be involved in concrete actions — either through their own projects or through collectives. Their work, its relevance, the impact generated and the context in which it takes place will all be assessed.
Can there be a tie?
No.
What does the winner receive?
The winner will receive €100,000, which must be allocated to a transformative project of their choice, in line with the criteria set out by the Basque Culinary World Prize.
How is it ensured that the prize money will be used appropriately and not for commercial purposes?
Once the winner has been informed that they have been awarded the BCWP, the proposed project is reviewed to assess the extent to which its contribution is valuable for the transformation of society through gastronomy. It may be a project with which the winner is associated, but it must not provide any direct commercial benefit to them.
The subsequent and detailed use of the funds must be documented. The organizers will ensure the proper use of the contribution.
