Spanish chef Xanty Elías has won the Basque Culinary World Prize 2021 for his initiative “Los Niños se Comen El Futuro”, which works to educate the next generation about healthy eating.
Chef initiative collaborates with companies and institutions throughout Andalusia to provide cultural education in schools. The programme teaches students traditional Andalusian recipes and shows them how to apply academic subjects like mathematics and chemistry to cooking, as well as educating them about healthy and sustainable eating. As part of the programme, chefs visit schools to deliver masterclasses. In the 2019/20 academic year, the programme reached over 15,000 schoolchildren across more than 100 schools in Andalusia. Elías hopes to expand “Los Niños se Comen El Futuro” throughout Spain at a national level.
Responding to his win, Xanty Elías said:
"I am happy and very grateful to the Basque Culinary World Prize. It is a wonder to show that gastronomy and chefs can make society evolve towards a better future, where gastronomic culture has real value from the beginning of teaching. Los Niños se Comen El Futuro was born from the need to ‘share’ knowledge with the consumers of tomorrow, through a subject at school, at the same level as the other core subjects, helping to generate awareness and better habits. Empowering children to make conscious decisions about the food that they eat while still a child is the basis for a healthier and more sustainable future."
The BCWP, now in its 6th edition, continues to bet on the transformative power of gastronomy by sharing inspiring stories of chefs who are spearheading social change beyond the kitchen. In each edition of the prize, through the winner and special mentions, the BCWP takes the opportunity to send a message and for the international community to examine the different areas in which a chef can add value to their community. In this edition, they have done it by highlighting food education, in addition to areas of social integration linked to immigration and the diversification of talent.
