Young chefs put the spotlight on the importance of local products

17 November 2016

The 2016 edition of the European Young Chef Award has received extensive press coverage, both inside and outside Spain and highlighted how young chefs are at the forefront of campaigns to support local food products and varieties from extinction. Dr Diane Dodd highlighted that “during the last century 75 percent of plant genetic diversity has been lost as farmers worldwide have moved to mono-culture high-yielding, pesticide-friendly crops.”

The European Region of Gastronomy Award therefore aims to develop events to grow citizen awareness about the need and opportunities in re-instilling pride in food and cultural diversity. This message certainly seems to be spreading with coverage of the event in newspapers such as Dimokratiki (Rhodes), ERT (Greece), SIRIS covering the winning and Omroep Brabant (The Netherlands).

Most coverage for the event was in Spain where this year’s European Young Chef Award was organised on 14 November 2016 by the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Art and Tourism (IGCAT), and hosted by the Escola Universitària d’Hoteleria i Turisme de Sant Pol de Mar (EUHTStPOL) in the framework of their 50th anniversary of training young leaders in hospitality, as well as the Catalonia, European Region of Gastronomy 2016. The Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia published the news both in its printed and online versions, ensuring national coverage of the event. Furthermore, Úbeda’s local edition of the newspaper Ideal, sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo and gastronomic magazine Saber y Sabor reported about the announcement on their online platforms. Among other Spanish information websites documenting 2016 European Young Chef Award are LosFoodistas.com, lainformacion.com, elEconomista.es, europapress.es y Reporte24.net.

Press coverage was largely due to the participation of celebrity chef Joan Roca as President of the international jury and this is further proof for the aspiring chefs that they will be future ambassadors for their regions and be able to transmit important messages about food diversity through their work.

Full articles can be read at the following links:

Spanish

http://www.lavanguardia.com/ocio/20161114/411857468867/el-griego-stamatios-misomikes-gana-el-premio-para-jovenes-chef-de-sant-pol.html

http://www.lavanguardia.com/comer/20161115/411861438687/joan-roca-sant-pol-european-young-chef-award-euht-carme-ruscalleda-gastronomia-europea.html

http://www.lavanguardia.com/edicion-impresa/20161115/411869177354/los-jovenes-chefs-reinventan-la-cocina-europea.html

http://www.saberysabor.com/actualidad-gastronomica/n/201611/4512-el-primer-european-young-chef-award-para-grecia

http://www.mundodeportivo.com/ocio/20161115/411877922819/joan-roca-gastronomia-european-young-chef-award-2016-premio-chef-joven.html

http://losfoodistas.com/mejor-chef-joven-europa/

http://ecodiario.eleconomista.es/espana/noticias/7958601/11/16/El-griego-Stamatios-Misomikes-gana-el-I-European-Young-Chef-Award-2016.html

http://www.lainformacion.com/estilo-de-vida-y-tiempo-libre/gastronomia-restaurantes-y-cocina/Stamatios-Misomikes-European-Young-Award_0_971904279.html

http://www.europapress.es/catalunya/noticia-griego-stamatios-misomikes-gana-european-young-chef-award-2016-20161114185859.html

https://reporte24.net/2016/11/joan-roca-reivindica-en-sant-pol-un-impulso-a-la-nueva-cocina-europea/