SPEAKERS
Joan Roca is the chef of the restaurant El Celler de Can Roca and the restaurant has won many awards, it was named the best restaurant in the world by The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2013 and 2015, and the second best restaurant in the world in 2011, 2012 and 2014. El Celler de Can Roca was named the third best restaurant in the world in 2017. He is elaborating traditional cuisine together with avant-garde techniques, which implies research of both modern techniques and traditional recipes. Some of the techniques he uses are Sous-vide, “Perfume-cooking” and Distillation. In parallel to the service in the restaurant, Joan leads a team of research, innovation, training and creativity that follows an ongoing course from La Masia. His contributions in low-temperature vacuum-controlled cooking have probably transformed the notion of immediate cuisine in the 21st century. His ample training vocation has led him to practice as a cook teacher for more than 20 years, to be recognized Honoris Causa Doctor by the University of Girona and to collaborate in different university programs such as the Science & Cooking course at Harvard. In 2015, he received an invitation from the World Economic Forum to be part of its council of cultural leaders and he has become, along with his brothers, ambassador of the United Nations Sustainable Development Programs.
Arzak Restaurant, Spain
With inspiration from the famous chef father, Arzak, who entered the kitchen at the age of 11, worked with Albert Roux at Le Gavroche in London after graduating from hotel management school in Switzerland. After working in La Maison Troisgros, Carré des Feuillants, Vivarois in Paris and in the
kitchen of Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monaco, she returned to Spain to work at elBulli.
She does not distinguish between traditional and modern gastronomy, but emphasizes that it is an area that every chef should pay attention to, since she sees traditional gastronomy as the basis of modern gastronomy. While Arzak is emphasizing this; “Modernism and globalization are important in terms of being innovative, but one should always be able to preserve one's essence. Identity is one of the most valuable legacies of every human being. Methods can be modernized, but it is very important to stick to the traditional.
Arzak has a laboratory space in her restaurant since 2000. Elena Arzak, who was chosen as the "World's Most Successful Female Chef" in 2012, is constantly improving herself.
Alchemist, Denmark
Munk’s career took off when he was 22 and was appointed Head Chef at TreeTop in Vejle – where he started combining ingredients, textures and flavors in new ways, which ultimately led to the opening of the first Alchemist in Copenhagen in 2015.
Rasmus Munk’s Alchemist crowned “Restaurant of the Year” for the second time as 2021 White Guide digital awards were announced with a ceremony held in Copenhagen. Four months after its opening, Alchemist was named “Restaurant of the Year” for 2020. In February 2020, before its first anniversary, the restaurant received two stars in the Michelin Guide Nordic Countries 2020. For a second consecutive year, Alchemist won the title of “Restaurant of the Year” 2021 at the White Guide digital awards.
In 2019, after two years of building, a newly Alchemist opened in an old shipyard in industrial district of Refshaleøen. Here Munk could realize his dream and vision of “Holistic Cuisine”. Along with art and performance, it also offers a dining experience that further enhances Munk's thought-provoking, surprising and humorous gastronomy.
Blue Hill, USA
Dan Barber is the chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, and the author of The Third Plate. Barber also co-founded Row 7 Seed Company, which brings together chefs and plant breeders to develop new varieties of vegetables and grains.
He has been called America’s philosopher chef, a zealot committed to changing the way we eat. Dan Barber is to sustainable farm-to-table dining what Hervé This was to molecular gastronomy. Central to his holistic vision is a complete overhaul of the way farms farm, cooks cook, and diners dine, so that a symbiotic thread joins them all together. From his Blue Hill restaurant in Manhattan, to his Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, Barber’s mission is to link our tastes as diners to the needs of farms and the land itself.
Blue Hill has one Michelin star, and it was awarded 3 stars by food critic Frank Bruni in the New York Times. In 2018, Blue Hill at Stone Barns reached No.12 on the World’s Best Restaurants list, and won the Chef’s Choice award. Dan Barber has received multiple James Beard awards, including Best Chef New York City in 2006 and Outstanding Chef in 2009. In the same year he was named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. And he was appointed to serve the US government by President Barack Obama.
He is a 1992 graduate of Tufts University, where he received a B. A. in English, and a graduate of the French Culinary Institute.
By the time he opened Blue Hill restaurant in Greenwhich Village in 2000, he was only just beginning to understand the importance of good farmers in creating great flavours. Every ingredient on the plate at Blue Hill must have a purpose and a meaning. Every plate must add up to something larger still. And all of it must loop back to the farmers, the land and the whole ecosystem.
Dan Barber’s accolades are one thing, but it is his voice that will have lasting impact on the way we eat. His position as one of the world’s most respected chefs helps him spread his message of sustainability and environmental awareness. His book The Third Plate is his manifesto, and it reminds us that some of the world’s most iconic recipes were made with ingredients that were grown out of the need to keep the soil fertile and healthy for future generations. His goal is that we keep that in mind with every delicious bite.
Enigma, Spain
He is currently head chef of Enigma, restaurant in Barcelona and was formerly the head pastry chef of elBulli, in Roses on the Costa Brava. He was the lead of vanguard kitchen inspiring many chefs around the world and the main reason for elBulli's success. He has often collaborated with his brother, renowned chef Ferran Adrià. He started to focus his interest on pâtisserie.
In June 2017, he opened his new project, Enigma, a labyrinthine space for 40 diners, the evolution of his previous 41º Experience and Tickets.
He won The World's 50 Best 2015 Best Pastry Chef award.
He concentrated in fighting the monsters of pure creativity, leading elBulli Taller, the R&D department that came up with the innovations and techniques which lead elBulli to the pinacle of global cuisine.
D.O.M., Brazil
One of the most important names of Brazilian gastronomy is undoubtedly Alex Atala. Since the beginning of his career, Atala has attracted the attention of food lovers with his works with the tastes, products and colors of Brazil. These works brought him many national and international awards. The world-famous chef, who won two Michelin stars with his main restaurant D.O.M, which he established in 1999, found himself in the list of "100 Most Influential People in the World" prepared by Time magazine in 2013. The chef, who was awarded the "Lifetime Achievement Award" by the South American edition of Time magazine in 2014, has made D.O.M one of the most exclusive restaurants in Brazil.
D.O.M. was rated the 4th best restaurant in the world by the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants, published by Restaurant magazine. His establishment also holds the title of "Acqua Panna Best Restaurant In South America." He's known for transforming traditional Brazilian dishes, adapting French and Italian culinary techniques to native Brazilian ingredients.
"Sustainability is a very meaningful word for myself. The main link between culture and nature is food. For us in Brazil, we deeply believe that the conservation of the Amazon is more than protecting the river, the seed or the forest. It is actually protecting the man who lives inside of the forest, nearby the river. When you decide to work with sustainability, it is a lifetime commitment. It will not take years, it will take a lifetime — your whole lifetime. ” he says.
Mugaritz Restaurant, Spain
Andoni Luis Aduriz is considered as one of the most influential chefs of our time. Throughout his career, he has prioritized both culinary evolution and an interdisciplinary approach. This has allowed him to cross the established borders and become a rebel in the kitchen.
Andoni Luis Aduriz, who ranked 7th in The World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2016 with his restaurant Mugaritz, is among the most successful chefs of the Basque region. He crowned his success with 2 Michelin stars in 2000 and 2005. “We create plates with natural products, successful producers and inspired work,” he says.
Aduriz was deemed worthy of many national and international awards, including the "Spain National Gastronomy Award", with its creative and innovative style in the field of gastronomy. When we asked Aduriz what he thought about Turkish gastronomy; “Turkey is geographically in a location where different cultures come together and it has a lot to both tell and teach. The important thing is that the audience and their chefs come to the point where they can share these experiences”.
Bachour, USA
Antonio Bachour grew up in Puerto Rico and was hooked on pastry from a young age thanks to a childhood spent in his family’s bakery. He began honing his trade in Puerto Rico as a pastry cook at Sand Hotel and Casino and Westin Rio Mar. In 2009, Bachour was asked by KNR Food Concepts to be a part of the opening team at the W South Beach Hotel. Shortly after, he took over responsibility for all pastries for the Trump Soho hotel and its restaurants. In April 2011, Bachour trained in France with renowned chef Philippe Givre at L’ Ecole Valrhona.
Bachour’s hyper-creative desserts have been featured in numerous pastry publications, such as So Good Magazine, Dulcypas, Saber y Sabor (Spain), Starchefs (The Architecture of New York), Gourmet Magazine, Dessert Professional, Pastry Art & Design and National Culinary Review (Magazine of the American Culinary Federation).
Antonio has published many excellent books and has spent the bulk of the past few years teaching pastry around the world and working on his flagship store, which opened in Coral Gables in February 2019.
Bachour’s local and international fame was cemented during his tenure at the Bal Harbour St. Regis where he was Executive Pastry chef from 2011 until 2016.
In 2012, Johnson and Wales University selected Antonio for the Zest award for Baking & Pastry Innovator.
In 2018, Antonio was awarded the Best Pastry Chef Award by the prestigious Best Chefs Awards organization, the world’s leading culinary award platform..
He has spent the bulk of the past few years since leaving the St. Regis, teaching pastry around the world, and working on his flagship store which opened in Coral Gables in the spring of 2019.
Restaurante Central, Peru
He received his certificate from Le Cordon Bleu and after that his main restaurant, Central, entered the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants, given by the British magazine Restaurant, at number 50 in 2013. Then he opened Lima, a modern Peruvian-style restaurant located in the Fitzrovia neighborhood of London. It was awarded a Michelin star in the 2014 Michelin Guide.
In the same year, Central jumped 35 places to number 15, winning the "Highest Climber" award, and was later named Latin America's Best Restaurant that year. The chef's restaurant, which has managed to become more successful every year, has managed to become the best in Latin America. In 2017, his restaurant was named the second best restaurant in Latin America and the fifth best restaurant in the world.
Martinez is known as one of the new generation chefs who successfully promote Peruvian cuisine. It reinterprets local Peruvian ingredients with modern cooking techniques. Martinez is known as the new star of Lima gastronomy.
Hiša Franko, Slovenia
She is a self-taught cook, she helms the kitchen of Hiša Franko restaurant in Kobarid. In 2017, she was named world's best female chef by The World's 50 Best Restaurants academy. In 2019 Travel & Leisure named Hiša Franko one of the world's 30 best restaurants. Hiša Franko was awarded two Michelin stars as Michelin Guide presented its first ever rating for Slovenia in 2020. Her restaurant was specially noted for sustainability as well and also in culinary guide Gault & Millau.
Her cooking style features innovative remaking of traditional recipes from the upper Soča valley region, prepared with local ingredients. Roš characterizes her own approach as "technical, almost scientific." She has a preference of serving raw food, especially vegetables.
Ana Roš has always been a champion of sustainability and local, seasonal, genuine products, that she transforms into unique dishes. Therefore, she works closely with local providers such as foragers and farmers that share her values.
‘’We are so emerged in nature and the wild that we can’t really cook in a different way than we are doing right now. It is also very difficult to copy-paste a dish because nobody else has the environment that we have around us.’’ she says.
Ristorante Berton, Italy
He winned four Michelin stars across three restaurants throughout a twenty-seven-year career. One of Milan's most decorated chefs, Andrea Berton is a role model for cooks across Italy thanks to his beautiful food, dedication to good ingredients and fierce work ethic. He has worked at some of the country's best restaurants and opened several of his own.
He began his adventure in the kitchen in the 1990s, first alongside Gualtiero Marchesi, then four years with Alain Ducasse at the Louis XV in Monte Carlo. In 2005 he began working at Ristorante Trussardi alla Scala, where he was awarded his first Michelin star in 2008; in 2009 he received the second Michelin star. In December 2013, he opened Ristorante Berton, in Milan, where broth became the star of one of his tasting menus.
The same year, he launched the Dry "Cocktail & Pizza" format and the Bistrot Pisacco. In 2014 Ristorante Berton Milan was awarded a Michelin star, a recognition that in 2016 just 9 months after opening. In 2020, the Chef opened the first H2O submarine restaurant at the resort 'You & Me' by Coccon in the Maldives.
At Pâtissier, Italy
Andrea Tortora, son of fourth generation pastry chefs with an international curriculum – from Paris to London, from Singapore to Venice – was for years the guiding light of pastry making of the St. Hubertus restaurant where he was awarded the third Michelin star as pastry chef.
Following the important awards he received, in 2017 Andrea Tortora began his project AT Pâtissier, which he continues with great enthusiasm, with the aim of offering great artisanal leavened products which are characterized by a fresh contemporary elegance. Andrea’s inseparable travelling companion of always is “Carletto”, the sourdough he created with his grandfather Vamor when he was 17, and which he has continued to keep lovingly fresh until today.
Andrea Tortora was recently awarded best Pastry in Italy from the Gambero Rosso Guide for 2017. Having worked around the world in some of the best restaurants including Ledoyen in Paris, Waterside Inn in Bray and Ristorante Zafferano in Singapore, Andrea is now head pastry chef of Chef Norbert Niederkofler’s 2 Michelin Star Restaurant St. Hubertus at Rosa Alpina Hotel & Spa in San Cassiano, South Tyrol.
''When subtraction means opportunity: that’s how I chose to honour the greatness of the Italian tradition. My role is to respect it, merging past and present together and experimenting with the harmony and offering a gift that can make the normality of everyday become marvellous.’’ says Andrea Tortora
Paul Bocuse Restaurant, France
He continues to work at Paul Bocuse Restaurant at Lyon.
Champion du Monde des desserts glacés 2018 / 2018 World Frozen Dessert Champion. He is a pastry chef at 2 Michelin Stars, Paul Bocuse Restaurant. (Passion Dessert)
Pastry Chef of Georges Blanc Group since 2015, Benoît Charvet manages a team of 12 confectioners and 4 bakers. He is in charge of the gastronomic restaurant’s sweet creations, brewery, room service menu, breakfast and brunch buffets, pastry shop and bakery, and also banquets and seminars. He revolutionized the desserts of the gastronomic table through his creativity and his design and architectural vision. The subtle combinations of flavors and textures are perfectly mastered. When he turned 19, this aesthete of pastry was already working as a Pastry Chef for Alain Senderens at Lucas Carton, and at 23, he worked as a Pastry Chef at Le Relais Bernard Loiseau during eight years. Leading figure in the pastry world, Benoît was voted Best Pastry Chef of the Year by his peers in 2013.
Restaurant Le Cinq, France
The amplification of simple ingredients is Chef Christian's life’s work. The Brittany-born chef’s skill in drawing out delicate flavors has garnered him the most prestigious awards the world of gourmet cuisine has to offer, culminating in Le Cinq’s third Michelin star.
A Paris destination in its own right, Le Cinq by Christian Le Squer is synonymous with the apex of French modern and elegant cuisine, paired with the rarest wines selected by award-wining Head Sommelier Eric Beaumard. Its three Michelin stars are a reflection of the gastronomic experience of a lifetime – in one of the city’s most majestic dining rooms.
"We use the French culinary heritage as a base and bring it up to date. It’s a long process, like craftsman’s work. It’s the pure essence of luxury." he says
I+Desserts
Gil began his professional career at age 16 in restaurant Can Jubany in Vic, Catalonia. After finishing his studies, he trained in kitchens from different parts of the world: Mugaritz (2* Michelin) in San Sebastián, Le chassagnet (1* Michelin) and Michel Bras (3* Michelin) in France and Le Calandre (3* Michelin) in Italy.
He was the Pastry and Desserts Creative and Production Chief of elBarri Restaurants Group for the last ten years; leading the 6 restaurants in Barcelona (Hoja Santa, Enigma, Pakta, Tickets, Bodega, Niño Viejo) and helping in the conceptualization of projects such as Heart in Ibiza (Albert and Ferrán Adrià with Cirque Du Soleil) Little Spain in New York (José Andrés) and the project Cakes & Bubbles, with Albert Adrià in London.
Nowdays, he’s the co-owner and Innovation Director at I+Desserts (which name translation would be R+Desserts, referring to research & development).
I+Desserts is a gastronomic investigation center focused on innovation, ideas, experiences and projects development for the sweet world. Helping restaurants, hotels and food industry in the development of new menus and products.
The I+Desserts team base all their activity on a series of values and convictions, such as that each creation must have an identity, technique must always be subject to taste and not aesthetics or presentation, it’s necessary to bet on seasonal products, pastry must be lighter, healthier and more balanced, plus it’s necessary to adapt to market trends in order to reach new consumers.
An example of the creative capacity of the team led by David Gil is the spectacular range of nougat (turrones) created every year, within the Xok concept. When talent, experience, and determination come together, initiatives with a high creative and technological component arise in this studio.
DSTAge, Spain
Before graduating with honors from the Escuela de Zabalburu in Bilbao, Guerrero staged at renowned Spanish restaurants Martín Berasategui, Goizeko Kabi, and elBulli. At 23, Guerrero became the head chef of Restaurante El Refor in Araba.
In 2003, Guerrero became the head chef of fine dining destination El Club Allard in Madrid. Under his supervision, the restaurant was awarded its first Michelin star in 2007 and its second in 2011.
The chef, who won various awards, including 2001 and 2002 Pil Pil gastronomy awards, worked at El Club Allard and after receiving his second Michelin star. To start work on his own project DSTAgE, which opened in 2014, he left the restaurant with a sudden decision.
Using his vision of democratizing haute cuisine, Guerrero crafted an environment that is open and unfussy, with a shared kitchen and dining room. Two Michelin chef also became a pioneer in employee well-being, deciding to close his restaurant on the weekends so his staff can enjoy a less stressful life.
Pastry Art Studio, Ukraine
Ukrainian pastry chef Dinara Kasko, who started her career with the profession of architecture, from which she received her education, retired from her main profession at an early age and combined her architectural knowledge with her skills in the kitchen and became the flag bearer of architectural pastry in the world. The uniquely beautiful cakes of Dinara Kasko, which reflected the original designs that she created with mathematical models on silicone molds with the help of a 3D printer, aroused worldwide repercussions. The models she created prove the relationship between architectural perspective and pastry.
The work of “cherries in an invisible box”, which made the biggest contribution to its worldwide awareness, won the appreciation of all authorities. Indicating that there is a ratio between the design and the recipes of his works, which have an unbeatable architectural appeal, Kasko wants his works to be tasted by the whole world. After Boston, Qatar and Moscow, it now offers its delicious flavors to its fans in Istanbul. As the brand chef of the concept patisserie opened under the name of Flosophia, Kasko will add new flavors to its recipes in a way that suits the Turkish palate.
Pepe in Grani, Italy
The dough runs in Franco Pepe’s DNA. His grandfather was a baker, his father was a pizzaiolo, and he and his brothers continued in the family business. Today, Franco is considered to be one of the best pizzaiolos in the world, famous for his unique dough, completely kneaded by hand, with creative ingredients that celebrate and reinvent the classical Italian recipes, and for his dedication to elevating the art of making pizza. Together with his father, Stefano, Franco grew up in the family pizzeria, still active in the same town, Caiazzo, which represented the starting point to his entire professional career. With the experience of two generations behind him, and inspired by a new vision of pizza, in 2012 he launched his most personal project, Pepe in Grani, which features, in each variety available, the flavours of Alto Casertano.
Chef Franco Pepe, owner of Pepe in Grani restaurant in Italy, won the ‘Best Pizza Chef’ award given by The Best Chef Awards. Franco Pepe is a living patron saint of pizza-making. Among the 19 deftly baked options is the Margherita Sbagliata (or the “wrong Margherita”), which has been named the Best Pizza in the World from 2016 to 2018. Likewise , his pizzeria Pepe in Grani has been awarded with three Spicchi from “Gambero Rosso” for ten consecutive years , ranked first in the European Cheap Eats list within the “Opinionated About Dining Guide 2020”, is listed as the World’s Most Voted Pizzeria in Daniel Young’s book “Where to eat pizza”, and was the first pizzeria to appear in the 50 Best Discovery within “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants” in 2019. His pizzas have been received awards such as the “Best Pizza in Italy”, “Best Traditional Pizza”, or “Best Pizza in Campania” by Pizza Awards Italia, and, in particular, the ‘Margherita Sbagliata ’ and ‘Crisommola ’ have been chosen as Pizzas of the Year by Gambero Rosso, and the ‘Scarpetta ’ and ’Ananascosta ’ as ‘Dishes of the Year ’ by Identità Golose.
One of Italy's preeminent pizzaioli, Franco Pepe is a modern artisan with an age-old passion for pizza. He showcases this lifelong pursuit at his restaurant Pepe in Grani in Caiazzo, a town located about an hour northeast of Napoli. Franco’s understanding, knowledge, and craftsmanship stem from his family of master bakers; thousands of times over, he has observed and learned from his grandfather and father, together with his brothers Antonio and Massimiliano. For Franco, sensibility rules his process as the dough itself tells the pizzaiolo when it is ready.
FUSTO Milano, Italy
Gianluca Fusto is a pastry chef with a chef pedigree, known for his style, creativity and sensitivity for great ingredients. Born in Milan, he finds a spiritual father in Aimo Moroni at the Milanese restaurant Il luogo di Aimo e Nadia (2 Michelin stars). After several important collaborations around the world, with Yann Duytsche and the French Ecole du Grand Chocolat of Valrhona as first foreign professor he completes his vocational-technical background. With his firm Gianluca Fusto Consulting, he offers tailor-made courses and consultancies from Paris to Dubai, from Tokyo to Hong Kong.
He is one of the major figures of Italian patisserie, a very committed professional with training and with competitions and activities for youngsters, such as the Junior World Pastry Cup. Gianluca Fusto cares of every last detail of all his presentations in a minimalist trend-setting style. He has a particular fondness for working with chocolate.
In 2020 he fulfilled his dream of opening his long-awaited brand new Fusto Milano, in the Lombard capital. A space as unclassifiable as his personality in which he will create and sell pastry products, organize events, research and development of techniques and ingredients will be carried out, and will even serve for recording television programs.
From his many achievements, in 2011 he coaches the Italian Team to win the First place of the Juniores Pastry World Cup at SIGEP in Rimini (Italy). He takes part in various major events of EXPO 2015, the Italian daily edition of the culinary television program “Masterchef” 2014 and participates as special foreign guest in the TV show Arabic TOP CHEF 2018.
The SKY ARTE Channel TV format “DE.Sign”, focused on the most famous designers and creatives of the world, features Gianluca Fusto as the “Italian Architect of Modern Pastry”. He is member of AMPI (Accademia Maestri Pasticcieri Italiani) and of the Associazione Italiana Ambasciatori del Gusto. He is awarded "Best Italian Pastry Chef 2012" at Identità Golose in Milan.
La Liste, France
Hélène Pietrini, who was the former director of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, which reveals the best restaurants and bars in the world every year, has now been directing the gastronomy world as the managing director of La Liste since 2021. La Liste does not only rank the Top 1000 world’s best restaurants every year in line with the principles of “transparency, honesty, and universality”, but is also the largest restaurants guide thanks to its database of more than 27,500 restaurants in 200 countries which is available in its restaurant finder app. La Liste is known as the world's first algorithm-based restaurant evaluation system with its multi-factor and objective scoring method.
Venta Moncalvillo, Spain
Ignacio Echapresto is a self-taught chef, defender of seasonal products and village cuisine. This being the case, it is not surprising that he decided, together with his brother Carlos, that the best place to open a restaurant was his own town, Daroca de Rioja, a territory that they knew well and from which they could obtain the best products. Ignacio's cuisine is a cuisine of the people, of proximity, of surroundings, of flavour, one of the main sources of supply being his own vegetable garden, which is cultivated by the Echapresto family.
Ignacio master’s traditional cuisine that he combines to perfection with some of the best avant-garde techniques because he never stops learning, being a regular at gastronomy congresses. Among his many awards are the La Rioja Quality Award for his professional career and commitment to the land, the Award for Best Chef of La Rioja and a finalist in the Bocuse D'OR. In 2011, with his hard work and perseverance, came the most awaited award: Venta Moncalvillo obtained its first MICHELIN Star, and after that turning point, Ignacio, together with his brother Carlos, have turned the discreet restaurant into a gastronomic pilgrimage restaurant of the highest world level.
Since 2011, this modern cuisine has had a Michelin star and went from being a traditional eatery to a place of pilgrimage for many national and international gourmets. In addition to this commitment to rural cuisine from their restaurant, Ignacio and his brother Carlos have been organizing “Cocinas de Pueblo” since 2019, an event that aims to be a meeting point to give visibility and give value to the kitchens that are made in small towns. from all over Spain, as well as the producers and artisans who work with them.
Like Carlos, Ignacio is an emissary of his land, La Rioja, giving talks and presentations at Spanish and international meetings where he tells of the richness of its gastronomy and culture. He has participated as a speaker at national level at Millesime Zaragoza and Madrid, Soria Gastronómica (Soria), Córdoba Califato Gourmet, Galicia Fórum Gastronómico and Madrid Fusión, among others. And on the international scene, Gastronomic Festival La Rioja (USA), Copa Gastronómica "Gols pela Vida" (Brazil), GastroAntep (Turkey), Congresso dos Cozinheiros (Portugal) and in numerous events as ambassador of La Rioja in some of the most important wine fairs and events in the world together with great wineries of his land. In 2019 he organises in his own village, in his own home, the event 'Cocinas de Pueblo' which aims to be a meeting point to give value and visibility to the cuisines made in the small villages of the Spanish geography and in 2022 they carry out with great national and international success the second edition of this meeting. In 2021 he received one of the most significant recognitions for him: he was appointed Ambassador of La Rioja by the Government of his homeland, something he has done since the beginning of his career both inside and outside Spain.
Lyle's, UK
James Lowe is head chef of one Michelin-starred Lyle's in Shoreditch, London. James started his kitchen career at 23. He was determined to have his own restaurant by 30.
James worked hard at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, Rob Weston’s La Trompette and Fergus Henderson’s St John. He needed to learn as much as he and was able to work at high-achieving restaurants. He was finally prepared to work alongside his friend Isaac McHale in a restaurant, The Ten Bells, Spitalfields.
It was able to live out his dream of opening his own restaurant in April 2014. Lyle's would be located in Shoreditch’s Tea Building and run in partnership with John Ogier, who James met while working at St John Bread and Wine and the backing of JKS - also behind celebrated restaurants Gymkana, Trishna and Sabor.
Just 18 months after opening, Lyle's was awarded its first Michelin star. James was devoted to fresh and seasonal and ensured that it was central to menu.
Eager to continue his learning journey as a chef, James regularly invites the world's best international chefs to cook with him and teach him about their local produce, returning the favour and exchanging his knowledge.
In 2019, James Lowe and John Ogier opened Flor, a bakery, restaurant and wine bar at Borough Market in South London.
A regular on the World's 50 Best list, Lyle's ranked 33rd in the international guide for 2021 and 84th in the National Restaurant Awards' Top 100. It also has two AA Rosettes.
2am:lab, Singapore
Chef Janice Wong. Her refined and ever-evolving dessert creations began with her studies at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, arguably the world's best culinary school, to pursue a career in pastry. Dissatisfied with how desserts were never the highlight of a meal, she actively sought to change this perception with the opening of 2am: dessertbar. Her never ending passion for culinary art has propelled her forward to test the limits of dessert making, including constantly blurring the boundaries between sweet and savoury. Eager to perfect her craft, Chef worked in numerous respected restaurants in Singapore, Paris, New York, Chicago, Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastian and Majorca.
Her many stages have given her the opportunity to work alongside celebrated chefs such as Gunther Hubrechsen, Loretta Fanella, Oriol Balaguer, Arzak, Will Goldfarb, Alex Stupak and Pierre Herme among others. On top of her participation in many globally recognised culinary events, Chef Janice Wong was the lone representative from Asia for Valrhona C3 @ Madrid Fusion 2010, the forefront global gastronomic forum. In 2011, she was invited back by STB to host the opening night for Madrid Fusion with Andre Chiang. To celebrate the success of Chef/Owner Janice Wong's maiden venture, she is looking towards expansion and has chosen to embark on an exciting new culinary adventure. Instead of opening another branch, Chef Janice Wong has opted to create 2am:lab, a meaningful, non-profit expansion of 2am:dessertbar's philosophies.
Since 2011, 2am:lab has been a hub for innovative dining, where the chef’s, including owner and founder Chef Janice Wong, specialise in not only serving up unique dishes, but in creating and work shopping new flavours and techniques. At this extension of the already successful 2am:dessertbar, guest chefs and masterclasses are just some of the bonus features on offer.
Janice has received worldwide recognition for her cutting-edge creations and is a regular on the global pop-up circuit—proof that 2am:dessertbar is more than just a sugar rush. She has recently been named Asia’s Best Pastry Chef, for the second year running, by the prestigious San Pellegrino Asia’s 50 Best for 2013 & 2014 and then World Gourmet Summit Pastry Chef of the Year (2011, 2013, 2015).
Ikoyi, UK
He realised that his heart belongs to the interest of cultures and especially the world of gastronomy. After a few years of apprenticeship with René Redzepi and Heston Blumenthal, together with his long-time school friend Iré Hassan-Odukale, he opened the »Ikoyi« restaurant in the heart of London in 2017, which received a Michelin star after only one year. Inspired by West African cuisine, Chan combines Nigerian, British, Japanese or French products to create fine dishes with unusual flavours. A pleasing novelty in the top cuisine which the guests invited by Creutz & Partners were able to experience.
Ikoyi is a cosmopolitan and contemporary restaurant in constant evolution, and the home of the unique cuisine from co-founders, Chef Jeremy Chan and Restaurant Director Iré Hassan-Odukale. With strong bold dishes that celebrate the finest, hyper-seasonal British produce combined with an extensive global storecupboard of ingredients -including a myriad use of spices and fermentations -menus are a contrast of elegance and balance, married with the fearless enjoyment of the taste and flavours of the season. Ikoyi is situated in the heart of St James’s. Ikoyi burst onto the global gastronomic scene when it won the American Express One To Watch Award at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in Antwerp in 2021. Operating out of a hidden corner of London’s well-heeled St James neighbourhood, the restaurant is continually evolving and developing its international identity. Jeremy Chan's two-Michelin-star (Michelin star in 2018, a second in 2022) Ikoyi will move to a new location in London.
Quintonil Restaurant, Mexico
After studying Administration and Culi nary Arts at Centro Culinario de México (Ambrosía), he gained kitchen experience working on cruises before his interest deepened and he sought experiences in world-leading establishments such as Noma in Copenhagen, then Pujol and St. Regis Hotel’s Diana Restaurant in Mexico City.
In 2012, Jorge decided to work on his own, and alongside his wife Alejandra Flores, he opened Quintonil, the bastion where, for the last ten years, the couple has established a per manent dialogue with the memory and the present of Mexi can culinary tradition, achieving their own personal cuisine, one that has earned Quintonil ninth place at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and eighth at The Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2022.
Vallejo has also received the Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award 2022, the only award granted through direct voting of the chefs from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The selected chef is considered by his peers as the most influential today in the field of world gastronomy.
With a passion for the history of his country’s culinary traditions, he set about reinventing and innovating dishes with a humble yet confident attitude that has allowed him to create several signatures that have already become classics. His work extends beyond the kitchen to reflect on the relationship gastronomy has on the environment, culture and society, collaborating with the wider community to find ways to improve the wider industry.
In 2020, Vallejo was among the first to roll up his sleeves and find a way forward during the pandemic. He and his team organised the sale of weekly boxes full of fresh and high-quality ingredients to support their suppliers who had lost their usual income, and also collaborated with other chefs and producers in the city to cook meals for hospital patients and vulnerable families.
Jorge is a talent that continues to grow and is already recognized as one of the greatest chefs in Mexico.
LEO Restaurant, Colombia
She studied Plastic Arts at the School of Fine Arts in Cartagena de Indias and Economics at the Technological University of Bolivar. She runs the kitchen at LEO, a Colombian fine dining proposal where she offers a journey through the biocultural richness of the different Colombian biomes, and at EL CASUAL, an informal concept based on culinary trends. She is President of FUNLEO, a non-profit organization dedicated to generating social welfare in rural ethnic communities that led her to deserve the BASQUE CULINARY WORLD PRIZE in 2017.
The chef was recently named the best chef in the world by THE WORLD'S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS and her restaurant LEO for the past two years has featured on this prestigious list, ranking No. 48 in its latest 2022 edition. For seven years also in the LATIN AMERICA'S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS, a list that also gave her the award for best chef in Latin America in 2017 and the Estrella Damm Chefs' Choice Award in 2020. Recently La Sala de Laura inside the LEO restaurant ranked into No .70 in THE WORLD’S 50 BEST BARS 2022 Other recognitions obtained include having ranked 69th in the Top 100 THE BEST CHEF AWARDS 2021, and No. 5 in TRAVELERS’ CHOICE WINNERS TRIPADVISOR 2020. She has several publications, including LEO EL SABOR, a book where she recounts stories from ancestral stoves and captures a modern vision through her experience in seven Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities; and, LO QUE CUENTA EL CALDERO, a book about her travels around the country told through magical and realistic culinary chronicles.
Manu Restaurant, Brazil
Her restaurant Manu, wins the Miele One To Watch Award for Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018. Manoella Buffara plans to fight for waste reduction, better nutrition and the environment. In addition to this, she often states that she prefers local products.
Paving the way for gastronomy in Brazil, Manu celebrates the culture and produce unique to the region of Paraná. At Manu, she uses organic ingredients from carefully selected suppliers and her own garden.
Formerly studying journalism, Manu found her passion for cooking, realizing her way of communicating was not through words but taste. Inspired by her family and background, Manu learned the value of land and animals growing up in the countryside and incorporates this in her everyday technique.
Manu’s devotion to sustainability and quality ingredients stems into her commitment to Curitiba, working with local communities to transform abandoned sites into urban gardens and educating locals on how to care for the gardens and feed themselves.
Maido, Peru
Micha, as everybody calls him was born in Lima and since his childhood was very passionate about cooking. In September of 1998 he finished school and was admitted in Johnson & Wales University (Providence, RI – USA) where he studied the careers of Culinary Arts and Food and Beverage Management, on completion of the fourth year he graduated with honors with an Associates degree in Culinary Arts and Bachelors in Foodservice Management.
While studying, he trained in various hotels and restaurants in Rhode Island and did his internship in Swissotel Lima. He also worked to develop along with the newspaper El Comercio ¨ The Great Encyclopedia of Peruvian Cuisine ¨
After graduating, he decides to go to Osaka (Japan) to specialize in Japanese cuisine where he worked in restaurants such as “Seto Sushi” and “ Imo to Daikon” , the first specialized in sushi and the second in Izakaya style cuisine.
After his experience in the demanding Japanese kitchens, returns to Peru working for five years at the Sheraton Hotel in Lima, the first 3 years as Sous Chef where he learned about Peruvian cuisine. The last two years in his hotel career he was in charge of the F&B department having the Food & Beverage Manager position.
His passion for Japanese and Peruvian cuisine led him to create Maido, a Japanese restaurant with Peruvian heart. In Maido he works with his team investigating and creating new culinary trends where Japanese and Peruvian cuisines live in harmony giving birth to Nikkei cuisine.
He has participated in world gastronomy congresses such as Madrid Fusión (Madrid), Gastromasa (Turkey), Foro Internacional Gastronómico de la Papa (Spain) and SS Gastronoika (Spain).
His work to spread Peruvian gastronomy around the world not only focuses on Maido and his work as a speaker at national and international conferences, in 2014 he published his first book “Nikkei is Peru” and in 2018 he made the documentary “Perú:
Tesoro escondido” (Peru Hidden Treasure), for the Netflix platform. In 2018 he was included in the prestigious The Best Chef Awards List, which recognizes the 100 Best Chefs in the world.
Maido has not stopped winning awards since its opening, in 2012 it was recognized with the Best Nikkei Restaurant Award according to the Summumm Guide, an award it won again in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019. In Latin America, in 2013 it was ranked 11th in the Latin Americas 50 Best Restaurants, in 2014 it climbed to number 7, in 2015 it rose to number 5, in 2016 to number 2 and in 2017 it was crowned number 1 in the Latin Americas 50 Best Restaurants.
And on a global level, in 2015 it entered The World's 50 Best Restaurants list at number 44, in 2016 it climbed to number 13 as Higher Climber (the restaurant that climbed the most places from one year to the next), in 2017 it reached number 8, in 2018 it climbed one position to number 7, in 2019 and 2020 it was ranked number 10, in 2021 it climbed again to number 7 and in 2022 it was ranked number 11 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants.
La Fenière, France
The mantra of Nadia Sammut, daughter of Reine Sammut and now at the helm of the Auberge, is “a commitment to creating a better-tasting world”. Here, gluten, refined white sugar and milk have all been banished from the kitchen, to be replaced by an impressive skill set focused on different types of flour (chickpeas, split peas and rice, in particular) and fruit sugars. These skills are showcased on a unique and bold tasting menu that draws on the history of the region and Nadia’s family. In the dining room, her partner Ernest, a highly enthusiastic sommelier, selects fish that abide by the ikejime method of preparation. The vegetable garden also has its part to play for this duo in creating healthy and natural Southern French cuisine, which looks to the future and the Grand Luberon for its inspiration.
''We are committed to good, clean and fair food. We endeavour to cook the harvest from our permaculture garden, as well as produce from old varieties, from local and organic farming, environmentally friendly breeding and sustainable fishing. The gluten-free flours we use are ground by us and we are committed to minimising our waste production.'' says Nadia Sammut
And then she got to work developing what she calls Cuisine Libre (Free Cooking), clean food from organic farms, and a menu that, although based on many of the favorites of her grandmother, are created without gluten—couscous, cannelloni, tagliatelle. She opened a pizza truck in Marseille, creating pizza dough from chickpea, rice, and buckwheat flours. She developed a couscous from a Moroccan cactus flour. And eventually, she and Reine shifted the family restaurant into a gluten-free zone.
Nadia Sammut’s Institut de Cuisine Libre now spreads the word on food allergies and food safety, and shares her years of study through cooking classes, private lessons, and trainings for other cooks. Plus, a gluten-free bakery is on the horizon. She has got one Michelin star and one green Michelin, too.
Under, Norway
By the end of 2017, it was announced that Norway would become host to the world’s largest underwater restaurant, Under. A unique restaurant experience never seen before in Europe. Situated on the country’s southern coast, the structure that houses the restaurant will straddle both the land and the sea. The chef will become Head Chef at the new Southernmost. Norway received it's first Michelin star when Under underwater restaurant was awarded one star in the edition for 2020 of the prestigious Michelin guide.
He has extensive experience working with some of the best restaurants in Scandinavia such as Henne Kirkeby Kro in Denmark and as a former Head Chef at the top Norwegian restaurant Måltid.
Nicolai has a great passion for local food and ingredients and can harvest the wild Norwegian nature all by himself. Nicolai is experimenting with local ingredients and different compositions so as to serve his guests a dining experience that will be hard to forget.
Have been fascinated about seaweeds and other biodiversittys from the ocean for the last 11 years, and continues to find new species to cook with and discover more and more possibilities and techniques to dive deeper into the flavors of the ocean. Chef Ellitsgaard want to showcase the Norwegian coastlines big biodiversity of different species, from unused crustaceans, mollusk and fishes that’s normally consider worthless and of cores his biggest passion seaweeds, the vegetables of the sea.
Cooperating closely with local farmers and fishermen to source the best local ingredients, head-chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard and his team prepare innovative seasonal dishes that capture the essence of their surroundings. As a result, the menu reflects the changing seasons of the harsh and pristine Norwegian nature on the southern tip of Norway with its rich and abundant natural resources.
Restaurant St. Hubertus, Italy
Norbert Niederkofler, one of the most important chefs in Italy, has been maintaining the quality of 3 Michelin stars for over 20 years with his high-altitude restaurant, St. Hubertus. The most striking thing about the restaurant, located in the Hotel Rosa Alpina - An Aman Partner Hotel, is the raw material use and simple and elegant presentations created by Norbert’s knowledge of technical mastery.
In the early years of his career, Norbert gained experience in gastronomy centers such as London, Zurich, Milan, Munich and New York. After returning to the Dolomite Mountains, where he was born, he adopted the use of raw materials in the local culinary culture of the region with, by his own words, “rediscovering his roots.” Chef Niederkofler combines aesthetics and taste with sophisticated techniques in Alpine cuisine, which he create and pioneered by the use of pine and juniper trees from the region’s flowers and spices.
The art of hospitality runs in Niederkofler's veins. He learnt the craft in his family-run guesthouse and through the teachings of his parents and four sisters. The chef sums up his life with just two words: balance and respect. His love for nature has led him to set up the Cook the Mountain project, a food network comprising local chefs, farmers and wine producers in an effort to highlight the produce of his mountains. He also organises conventions, bringing together chefs from all over the world to discuss social and environmental sustainability. He also one green Michelin, too. Norbert is also the co-owner of restaurant AlpiNN Food Space & Restaurant.
In 2013, “Cook the Mountain” project was launched by Niederkofler to protect the culinary culture of South Tyrol and the Dolomite Mountains, provided an expanding social awareness across the region’s regional products. ‘’I founded the “Cook the mountain” movement to showcase and promote the traditional produce of the mountains. Getting to know the region’s small producers is the first step in working together to preserve the area’s wine and food traditions, at the same time as improving quality and promoting a sustainable approach.’’ says Norbert Niederkofler
Chef Norbert Niederkofler selects produce solely from the Dolomiti mountains where his restaurant resides. His choice to rely only on local products is not a shortcut: “being loyal to the place where one lives is – paradoxically – much harder [than taking ingredients from anywhere],” Niederkofler explains.
Pasteleria Torreblanca, Spain
Torreblanca is born from passion, dedication and the desire to create a gastronomic experience in the person who tastes their "works". The headquarter is in the province of Alicante and its first store was founded in 1978. The pastry chef’s place is innovation and avant-garde. They make haute pastry with the best and selected raw materials. It is the one with the highest quality and proven prestige at a national and world level, due to its recognized awards in all gastronomic fields.
Paco Torreblanca is considered one of the best Artisan Pastry Masters in the world with numerous distinctions, including Doctor Honoris Causa by several universities and best Artisan Pastry Master in Spain and Europe. Their famous Panettone, has prizes inside and outside of Italy, and is recognized as the Best Panettone in the World outside of Italy. The company consists of a workshop with an area of 3,000 m2 and a capacity of 100 employees.
His son Jacob Torreblanca, chosen Best Master Pastry Chef Artisan of Spain in 2003, vice-champion in the Pastry World Championship in 2004, view pastry as an art form full of sensuous experiences. His philosophy is to reach maximal quality by using the best products and by adopting a specific design.
The philosophy of their bakery is to achieve the highest quality starting from the best products, and adopting a particular design. Jacob Torreblanca: Best Pastry Artisan Master of Spain 2003, Runner-up in the World Pastry Championship, Rimini 2004 and in 2022, Best Pastry Chef in the World 2022.
Bernachon Chocolaties, France
Bernachon, which has a long history in chocolate, is today cited among France’s top chocolatiers. It offers its guests an unforgettable experience with their chocolates made from the best cocoa beans in the world.
Philippe Bernachon, who first engaged in trade away from his family heritage, later opts to become a chocolatier, describing this situation in the words of “passion passes from father to son.” The successful name tells the story of Bernachon, who has been Lyon’s best chocolatier for years.
Working with an international cocoa bean importer that contacts local producers around the world, Bernachon’s chocolates consist of 10 different types of cocoa beans, all with different taste and density.
The chocolates are in a league of their own when it comes to quality, and are made according to a true bean-to-bar practice in the Lyon workshop. In 2017, Maison Bernachon obtained the EPV Label in 2017, and is proud to be a Living Heritage Company.
''A beautiful product, the unique taste of Bernachon chocolate is something that has accompanied me since childhood. Its special features are above all excellence & tradition.'' says Philippe Bernachon, the third generation to take over the Bernachon business.
Lido 84, Italy
Born in 1973, from Bergamo, he has in his curriculum the Albereta di Erbusco with Gualtiero Marchesi, Le Manoir aux Quat Saison with Raimond Blanc, La Grande Cascade in Paris, with Jean-Louis Nomicos, that is to say Alain Ducasse, and the Villa Fiordaliso in Gardone Riviera, interspersed with forays into various kitchens around Europe, and then moving in 2014 to Lido 84, also in Gardone Riviera, after 6 months from the opening it obtained its first Michelin star.
The style of chef, the result of a vision that combines the most exquisite refinement with a sincere love for hospitality, Riccardo's cuisine is steeped in ancient flavors that evoke the places that raised him, and as fragrant as the warm zabaglione that accompanies his rose cake. In his dishes, the technique is always at the service of a very strong poetic component: respect for the materiality of the product is thus combined with the imaginative impetus, as in the case of the sylvan symphony of "Rice, fermented black garlic and berries" or " Romanità Transalpina ”of the“ Cacio e pepe cooked in the bladder ”.
Italy’s foremost culinary sensation. In his Lido 84, which opened in early 2014 on the western shore of Lake Garda and was a former bathing beach with direct access to the lake, he was awarded a Michelin star in a mere six months.
He received the prestigious one-to-watch award from the renowned The World’s 50 Best Restaurants List in 2019 and afterwards the “Highest Climber Award" in 2021 and the recent 8th place in 2022.
Kol Restaurant, UK
Working in professional kitchens from the age of 15 and coming up through global institutions such as San Sebastian’s Mugaritz, Santiago Lastra’s journey is one to impress even the most seasoned diners.
Over the past four years, Santiago has travelled the globe, accepting guest chef invitations at high profile establishments including London’s Tate Modern and Hija de Sanchez in Copenhagen, before accepting an invitation to return to his homeland and launch NOMA Mexico in 2017. Instrumental in the concept as Rene Redzepi’s right-hand man, Santiago spent the year researching and sourcing exceptional ingredients from unassuming small-scale producers across the country.
After this experience, travelling and getting to know the traditions and personalities behind Mexican gastronomy, he realised that there were only a few examples of authentic Mexican cuisine in the world; so many restaurants overlooked the intangible elements that reveal its true quality.
KOL as a concept was born on a beach in Tulum, shaped from a desire to be a part of the few who represent Mexico in an authentic way. A cuisine rooted in tradition, but always evolving and adapting, holding at its core the understanding of landscape, culture and people.
Since launching KOL, Santiago has been awarded the title of GQ Best Chef 2021 and collected awards for KOL from La Liste, as the New Arrival of the Year 2021, and recognised as one of the top 35 restaurants in the UK in the National Restaurant Awards.
Midunu Restaurant, Ghana
After over a decade spent engaged in humanitarian work with the United Nations and years of self-teaching in the culinary arts, Selassie Atadika completed course work at the Culinary Institute of America. Her company Midunu, a nomadic and private dining enterprise in Accra embodies ‘New African Cuisine’. It celebrates culinary heritage where culture, community and cuisine intersect with environment, sustainability and economy by employing local, seasonal, and underutilized ingredients including traditional grains and proteins to deliver Africa’s bounty to the table. Chef Selassie Atadika uses Ghanaian cocoa and chocolate as a base to feature the flavors and essence of Africa. She launched The Midunu Institute which looks to document and preserve the continent’s culinary heritage. She was a finalist in the 2019 Basque Culinary World Prize, within the top 100 in the Best Chef Awards 2020 - 2021 and 2021 recipient of the La Liste New Destination Champion Award for Africa.
Her culinary interest from Ghanaian roots, has evolved through time spent and meals sampled in the US, Europe, and countless countries in all the corners of Africa. After years of self-teaching in the culinary arts, she completed course work at the Culinary Institute of America. A founding member of Trio Toque, the first nomadic restaurant in Dakar, Senegal, she has brought her innovative approach to African cuisine back home to Ghana to introduce them through Midunu, a nomadic dining concept featuring what she calls New African Cuisine.
L’Enclume, UK
Simon Rogan’s Lake District restaurant L’Enclume, has today been awarded its third Michelin star, making it the first ever restaurant in the north of England to do so. L’Enclume has been awarded its third Michelin star.
“Over time, my vision has become intertwined with the environmental issues that our society faces. I began to see that farming and how we approach it, with no pesticides or fertilisers and focusing on small-scale local production, is the future of agriculture and sustainable dining. We hope the future will only bring us closer to operating fully zero-waste restaurants, healthier soil and more ways to compost than before. We hope to establish an educational platform for future generations and to further develop the relationship between cooking and growing. Winning three Michelin stars at L’Enclume has always been one of my greatest ambitions, and my head is still buzzing with excitement and joy.”
L’Enclume being one of eight restaurants in the UK and 134 restaurants worldwide and has got a green Michelin, too.
In 2020 Roganic Hong Kong was awarded a Michelin star, less than ten months after opening and received by a Michelin Green Star in 2021, highlighting Roganic as a leader in the field of restaurant sustainability in the city.
Consultant Chef, Germany
For over 30 years, Thomas Bühner has been at the top of the league of German chefs. Bühner decided to become a chef, and even back then, he announced to his parents: “So if I’m going to be a chef, then at least I want to be a good one” - and he has kept his word to this day.
Thomas Bühner trained to cook at the Schweizer Haus in Paderborn. Then worked at the Düsseldorf Hilton under Günter Scherrer, the Landhaus Scherrer in Hamburg. Also at the Grand Cru Restaurant in Lippstadt. Finally at the Restaurant Jörg Müller and at Harald Wohlfahrt’s Schwarzwaldstube.
Consequently, two years later Thomas Bühner became Chef at the La Table Restaurant in Dortmund in 1991 where he gained his first Michelin star five years later, followed by a second one in 1998.
In 2001, Thomas Bühner was awarded the Gault Millau “Rising Star of the Year” award and was voted “Chef of the Year” just five years later. Since 2006, Together with his wife Thayarni Kanagaratnam, he has been running Restaurant La Vie in Osnabrück. In 2009, he received the accolade of becoming a Relais & Chateaux “Grand Chef”. In 2011, he was awarded with a third Michelin star.
Thomas Bühner has worked hard to ensure his cuisine embraces the product. Beyond his culinary expertise, he has proven to the world that he is a true professional in every sense with the mutual respect and rationalist attitude he encourages in all the kitchens he works in. He learnt the importance of discipline and became intrigued by the down-to-earth attitude and humaneness that Wohlfahrt showed towards the people who worked for him on a daily basis.
Cocina Hermanos Torres, Spain
Cocina Hermanos Torres is a fine dining restaurant created in 2018 by renowned catalan twins Sergio and Javier Torres located in the Les Corts neighborhood in Barcelona, Spain. Cocina Hermanos Torres is accoladed with two stars by Guide Michelin, a maximum three Repsol Suns by the most important Spanish dining guide and a green Michelin star for their sustainable efforts.
From the Torres twins who have transformed an industrial warehouse into a unique gastronomic space in which the open kitchen surrounded by tables takes centre stage. The creative dishes on offer are inspired by tradition, rekindling memories of childhood, travels and the flavours of different regions around Spain. Open kitchen is the centrepiece for the expansive dining room at Cocina Hermanos Torres.
Geranium, Denmark
Søren started his career in 1995 as a chef and has worked in some of the best restaurants in Denmark. Søren started Geranium with his friend Rasmus in 2007 and in 2016 Geranium earned its third star in the Michelin Guide. Besides being the Co-owner, Søren is also the General Manager and Wine Director at Geranium. Søren has been studying wine for many years, he is an Advanced Sommelier in the Court of Master sommeliers and a MS Candidate.
For Søren, a former chef turned sommelier and front of house manager, the transition from the kitchen to the cellar and restaurant was a natural progression, one that went hand in hand with the desire to provide guests with a complete experience. It was an opportunity to learn, to gain more knowledge and to become a better business partner.
His selections for the wine pairings at Geranium involve hours of theory, tasting notes and understanding of the flavor profiles of both the wine and the dishes.
Managing a 18.000 bottle wine cellar is a job that requires one to evolve and grow, season after season. He equates the introduction to a new domaine, chateau, or vintage to being a child again and opening a new present.
Søren has a soft spot for Italian wines, but he doesn’t really have any favorite wines: – Most important thing besides the quality of the wine, is the moment and with whom you share it. That’s the magic of drinking wine –
Venta Moncalvillo, Spain
He is the other half of Venta Moncalvillo. Together with his brother Ignacio, he decided to make their small village the place to start their business more than 25 years ago and thanks to their perseverance they have managed to turn their once simple project into one of the best restaurants in La Rioja. He is the older brother, the Sommelier, the Maître D’ and the Host of the Restaurant, their home. The driving force behind the first sommelier course held in La Rioja, Carlos is one of the leading figures in both the FOH and in wine service in Spain.
In 2016 he was recognized with the Spanish National Gastronomy Award for Best Sommelier, in 2020 his wine list was awarded by the IWC as the Best in Spain and in April 2022 he received the Club de Gourmets Award for Best Sommelier. Carlos is a passionate advocate of La Rioja wines both in Spain and abroad, where he acts as an ambassador giving presentations and tastings to professionals from all over the world, and, together with his brother Ignacio, they work tirelessly to position their land as a gastronomic reference within and beyond our borders
The Echapestro brothers opened their restaurant in a hidden village 20 kilometres from Logroño. Such location was no accident; quality, creativity and loyalty to their surroundings are the trademarks of a place that instills calm and demands a leisurely attitude. Armed with that spirit, it is easy to enjoy the soulful creations of Ignacio, a self-taught chef who learnt the kitchen ropes from his mother Rosi, and the hospitality of Carlos, who fronts the house and takes care of the wine service.
Loyal to their roots, traditions and the idea of proximity, the Echapresto brothers work with small producers based in the Sierra de Moncalvillo to recover and add value to artisan products like oak tree honey, supurao wine made by Ojuel or Moncalvillo beef which Ignacio and Carlos include in their food and wine menus. They have recently launched a new range of gourmet honey meads made in a new meadery built in Daría which are served in the restaurant.
In 2021, together with his son Ismael, a viticulteur, and his friend the oenologist Sergio Sáez, he started a new project in his village 'Moncalvillo Meadery'. This new adventure unites two of his great passions, oenology, and gastronomy with the millenary beekeeping to create a variety of artisan meads with a lot of personality and gastronomic character. In its short life the product is already positioned as a benchmark in this drink and is present on the menus of some of the best restaurants in Spain and Europe. But Carlos's great work is not only recognized in La Rioja, as attested to by the awards he has received to date.
The Connaught Bar, UK
Giorgio Bargiani is an Italian mixologist with a passion for flavors and travel. He likes to connect with amazing humans and characters. He is the Head Mixologist at The Connaught Bar, which won the world’s best bar in 2020. Giorgio is a judge at the London Spirits Competition.
He is the Assistant Director of Mixology at The Connaught Bar which is voted The World’s Best Bar for two consecutive years. As Head Mixologist, Giorgio is responsible for the bar drinks programme, cocktail creation as well as mentoring of the bartending team. Giorgio shared key insights that every bartender pursuing a career in one of the best bars in the world should know.
"A good bartender is like a good cocktail: a balance of different ingredients and technical skills, a story and inspiration behind, and a great taste." - Giorgio Bargiani
Cocktailsolutions, Denmark
Armed with a background in science and engineering from the Techical University of Denmark, Hardeep has engaged the hospitality scene since 2002, including five-star hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, speakeasy cocktail bars and night clubs throughout the world.
Creating flavour pairings using unexpected combinations inspired by his love for science.
Hardeep is a leading authority in the hospitality scene, having won national and international competitions since 2007.
Awards
IBA Danish Cocktail Championship-
Winner 2007, 2009, 2011
Grand Marnier Danish Championship-
Winner 2008
Absolut Invite Denmark - Winner 2012, 2013
Diageo World Class - Danish & Nordic Winner 2014
Diageo World Class - Global top 10 +
Martini Award 2014
Diageo World Class 2021 - Danish Winner
Diageo World Class 2021 - Global 4th place
Restaurante Manu, Brazil
Sommelier and she is also well known as Wine Representative, Consulting and Training.
Graduated in administration, she started working in the hotel business and soon moved to the gastronomy business, starting her career at Restaurante Manu (Curitiba, Brazil) in 2014. There, she had her first contact with wine and soon decided to delve into this field. world that enchanted her, through studies and technical tastings.
She currently works as a sommelière, wine representative and wine & service consultant. Its focus is on natural and sustainable wines, mainly Brazilian wines.
Leo Restaurant, Colombia
Along with a degree in International Relations, a Postgraduate in Corporate Social Responsibility and a Masters in Development Studies, she is always in search of answers and actions to walk toward the development of a food culture that values the potential of Colombia’s natural and cultural heritage.
“After tasting wine in that first class, I told my housemate I wanted to commit myself to wine,” Hernández says. “On that journey, I discovered sommellerie is a parallel to political science that also gives me the opportunity to be creative. It turns out international relations, geography, the study of cultures and humanities are all very complementary.”
Director of FUNLEO, a non-profit organization that works to improve the welfare of Colombians understanding gastronomy as an engine for development. Laura has shown great interest in food studies, for which she has lead various projects aimed at strengthening food security and nutrition among communities, especially with afro-descendant, indigenous, peasant and women groups.
Laura Hernández Espinosa and chef Leonor Espinosa received the award for The Best Restaurant in Colombia for Leo at Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2018.
She is a leader that creates sustainable development projects through food throughout Colombia.
Restaurante Paco Roncero, Spain
Agricultural Technical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, specializing in Agrifood Industries. After signing a project as a technical engineer, she started working at the Madrid-NH hotels casino as a sommelier, since 2000. She took the sommeliers course at the Madrid Chamber of Commerce (she was first in her class), and during the first years of the summer period she made short stays at El Bulli.
She belongs to the tasting committee of the gastronomic magazine Sobremesa since 2006, previously she belonged to the Gourmets group. She did jury member in different sommeliers championships / jury at the Decanter tastings. Participation in tastings in different areas of Spain as a jury. She has collaborated in the Food and Beverage Purchasing department of NH hotels. She is the member of the large payments tasting committee of Spain/Sobremesa. Collaborating member of the Academy of the Territory. Collaborator of Valduero wineries and collaborator in the newspaper La Vanguardia with fortnightly tastings.