Today, 13 May, the professionals on this new list are coming together at the Basque Culinary Center for an intensive day during which they will share their projects, ideas and concerns through different activities and dynamics. 

This initiative of the Basque Culinary Center began in 2020, when the first edition of the list was presented and, given its success and impact, a second edition was published in 2022. Today, the Center, where training, innovation, research and entrepreneurship coexist, celebrates and recognises the work of all those who strive day after day to generate a positive change through gastronomy.

 

This compilation includes diverse voices who explore what could lie ahead for a sector that offers unlimited possibilities, and the future of which depends on its capacity to attract, integrate and take advantage of the new ideas and visions of these professionals.

 

This is what has shaped the selection of the 100 profiles for 2024, which can be seen on the website https://100jovenestalentos.bculinary.com. The list includes a wide range of sector profiles, divided into the following categories: Restaurant, Production, Communication, Startups, Research, Bread/Pastry and new professional profiles.

 

New approaches, more diversification

 

A trend seen in the 2022 edition is confirmed and consolidated in 2024: the growing diversification of profiles covered by the new generation in gastronomy in their professional activities and businesses. 

The third edition of the 100 Young Talents in Gastronomy list reveals a significant change in the gastronomy sector. Compared with previous editions, there is a lesser predominance of the traditional restaurant industry, with a notable diversification of profiles. It also incorporates current trends and concepts in gastronomy, such as zero waste, ferments, plant-based cuisine and alternative protein, circular economy, artificial intelligence, blockchain and, of course, sustainability, and highlights the growing importance of outreach and research in the sector. 

The restaurant industry profiles, mostly professionals working at Michelin-star establishments and Spanish restaurants on the ’World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ list, make up slightly over a third of those on the list, while in previous editions they made up more than 50%. These figures are in line with the more ‘traditional’ kitchen and front-of-house positions in restaurants, which increasingly need to be complemented by other profiles such as the sommelier and pastry chef and also by new scientific, management and design roles. In addition, it is evident that young people in the sector are exploring new activities or even recovering artisanal trades that are almost becoming extinct, particularly in relation to agriculture, livestock farming and fishing but also bread and cheese making and ceramics, among other activities.

The part of the list not related to the restaurant industry is distributed between bread and pastry making (9%) —with several young bakers from haute cuisine establishments such as El Celler de Can Roca, DiverXO, Bardal and Desde 1911—; producers (8%) —crop farmers, livestock farmers and fishermen—; wine industry (14%) —winemakers, winegrowers, oenologists, producers of new drinks, sommeliers, cocktail makers— and startups (8%).

More than 50% of the young people selected are entrepreneurs, reflecting an innovative drive in the sector, with a strong representation of women-led projects. Also of note was the continuity in the management of family businesses by the new generations. 

Moreover, it was observed how, together with a predominantly bistro restaurant model and the clear trend for a cuisine closely tied to the land —to its natural pantry, with reinterpreted local recipes—, other innovative concepts emerged, such as a pizzeria, a grill restaurant, a sandwich bar, a burger restaurant —with a food truck and delivery service—, an izakaya and a lunch bar on an industrial estate.

‘New professional profiles’ is a category that accounts for 14% of the 100JT. It includes a diverse range of professions that may be increasingly more attractive to the new generations and confirms the capacity for innovation that some people under 30 have: from catering, design, speciality coffee, ceramic tableware and utensils to consultancy, management roles —economics, business, finance, quality control and sustainability— and market analysis, within restaurants and companies in the gastronomy industry. 

 

Outreach and dissemination in gastronomy

There are two other categories that deserve special attention for representing this increasingly multidisciplinary vision of gastronomy and potential career opportunities. Firstly, outreach and communication, accounting for 7%, a category that includes TikTokers, YouTubers, Instagramers and Podcasters who attest to the growing importance of contemporary channels for giving visibility to gastronomy using direct, simple and ‘democratised’ language.

And research (7%), this huge gateway that today links science and gastronomy, with scientific roles already integrated into the personnel of large restaurants such as Noma, Aponiente and Estimar.

In summary, this distribution of profiles among the different sectors and activities of the 100JT in gastronomy in 2024 gives us an insight into the new generation in the gastronomy sector, who are already shaping the present of gastronomy in Spain and are set to make their mark on, and even reinvent, the future of the sector.    
 

Demographic aspects of the list

In terms of gender, 57% of those on the list are men, 43% are women. 

Geographically, all the autonomous communities are represented on the list by location of the business in which the selected young people work. The majority are based in Catalonia (20%), followed closely by the Community of Madrid (20%) and the Basque Country (19%). There are also three young people who work in businesses located outside Spain (Denmark, Singapore and the United States).

Another detail to consider is that 27% of the 100JTG list are BCC alumni, i.e. professionals who have received some form of training at the Center.

With its wide range of profiles, this ‘100 Young Talents in Gastronomy’ list gives us an insight into the new generation in the gastronomy sector and an approximate portrait of the profiles destined to shape the future of gastronomy in Spain.

 

To identify the professionals on this list, a committee of experts at the Basque Culinary Center launched a search process. Through exhaustive research, a selection was carried out to capture a representative range of professionals in the gastronomy sector, with the aim of reflecting their concerns and ideas. 

 

The ‘100 Young Talents in Gastronomy’ lists for 2020 and 2022 portrayed the potential of the youngest generation in gastronomy, with names who later demonstrated their achievements through awards, professional promotion and by implementing major projects. 

 

 

An event for connecting talent

 

The people on this list will come together today at an event in which they will dialogue and share their experiences with some of the professionals on the 2020 and 2022 lists. This will be carried out  through diverse activities, analysing the concerns and opportunities of the sector, new trends, the role of technology and digitalisation and how to navigate a sector in constant change. 100 voices, perspectives and stories will be the focus of this event that will put the spotlight on young people under 30 who are revolutionising the gastronomy sector. 

 

Who ventures to set up a business before the age of 30? How has the world of desserts evolved in today’s gastronomy? Who are those taking on the new roles in gastronomy? What are the aims and aspirations of the new generations? What do they want to change? The 100 young talents in gastronomy will gather in the auditorium of the Basque Culinary Center to enjoy and participate in a content-packed day where they, their projects, ideas and visions will be the centre of attention.  

 

Through talks, dialogues, culinary demonstrations and workshops, some members of the selection will show us how they cook the ideas of the future, explain their motivations for entrepreneurship and developing innovative ideas to create new successful businesses, how to recover artisanal professions considered lost, how to approach a new restaurant format, the new consumption trends, and the digital transformation of the sector. 

 

The event will conclude with a gala dinner in the prism of Tabakalera (a centre in Donostia-San Sebastián) and the presentation of an award to 100 young talents who will lead the gastronomy sector in the coming years.

 

The 100 Young Talents in Gastronomy initiative was implemented thanks to the support of AgroBank, Alta Expresión de los Pedroches, Lavazza, Mahou San Miguel, and Martiko, the main event partners, and the sponsors Araven and Arcos, whose promotion of this initiative is essential for the visibility of the new talents in gastronomy. 

 

They will participate in the event by offering different activities that will allow the young talents to get to know these reference brands first-hand. Alta Expresión de los Pedroches will welcome the guests at a cocktail reception with a sensory tunnel that will transport them to a unique environment, La Dehesa. Lavazza and AgroBank will offer two workshops; the Italian brand, will highlight, via Tommaso Zoboli, Best Italian Chef Under 30 and owner of the Patrizia restaurant, the importance of the coffee culture in gastronomy. AgroBank, through a creative activity and culinary demonstration, will show participants the impact of the primary sector in gastronomy.

 

In the evening, at Tabakalera’s prism, Martiko will set up a GastroMarket in the LABe Restaurant, where attendees will be able to sample some of their products, and Mahou San Miguel will round off the evening with an exclusive party in which creativity, young talent and beer will be the protagonists.

 

NOTE:

 

This biannual list forms part of a selection of profiles carried out during months of scouting by the Basque Culinary Center team which, for this edition, held an open nomination process via an online form, so that anyone in the sector could propose people who could potentially form part of the list. The spirit with which the list is compiled is based on young professionals who stand out in their respective areas for having innovated, had an important position in an organisation or who made significant professional progress in it, for having received an award or for having made an interesting or disruptive contribution to the sector.

 

To be admitted to the list, the Basque Culinary Center decided to apply the same criteria as that used for the 2020 and 2022 editions, requiring that the young people be no older than 30 by the end of 2023 (they can turn 31 in 2024).    
 

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