Basque Culinary Center

[2] The board of the Basque Culinary Center foundation is made up of the chefs who played an active role in launching the initiative and continue to be closely linked to the project (among them Juan Mari Arzak, Martin Berasategui, Pedro Subijana, Karlos Arguiñano, Andoni Luis Aduriz, Hilario Arbelaitz and Eneko Atxa); institutions in the knowledge sector, Mondragon University and the AZTI-Tecnalia technology centre; public bodies including the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the City Council of San Sebastián; and leading companies in the food and drinks industry: Fagor, Eroski, Martiko, Heineken, Covap, Pernod Ricard-Domecq Bodegas and D.O.

The purpose of this body is to advise the board of the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences and the Research and Innovation Centre on strategic matters, and to raise the international profile of the Basque Culinary Center.

Prior to the launch of this project, there was no official university-level training in the gastronomy sector on offer in Spain, and the only precedent in Europe was the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy.

The degree is based on five broad areas of knowledge, with the aim of guaranteeing an up-to-date training for professionals in the sector: cooking, service, management, science and culture.

The centre carries on these activities through the BCulinary Club, set up as a space for gastronomy enthusiasts, featuring talks, courses, cookery classes and recipes.

The Basque Culinary Center is set to complete work on a new building for innovation and research in the Gros district of San Sebastián in the summer of 2025.

The new building, named Gastronomy Open Ecosystem (GOe), will include eight kitchens, a sensory analysis room, ten laboratories including physical-chemical and microbiology rooms, a creativity workshop, an audiovisual production studio, coworking spaces, areas for companies, classrooms and multi-purpose kitchens, an auditorium, an experimental restaurant and a cant.