We’ve been going on and on about the Basque stages, and the incredible experiences they’re having here in Basque Country and in chef Martin Berasategui’s kitchen. But it’s time for a quick briefing for anyone who is curious to know more about the program.
The Basque Stage scholarship is a unique, experimental exchange in which two young American culinary professionals are invited to stage (kitchen talk for ‘intern’) with all their expenses paid in a three-star restaurant in Basque Country, Spain. During their six months at Martin Berasategui’s flagship restaurant in Lasarte, just outside San Sebastíán, they cook full time and gain experience in a foreign kitchen of the highest caliber. They also chronicle their experiences on their personal BasqueStage blog, an important part of the Scholarship. See what we’re talking about at Tracy and Athena’s blogs.
The BasqueStage Scholarship is a collaboration between Sammic, a European company that manufactures equipment for professional kitchens, and Martin Berasategui, one of the most renowned chefs in the world with over a dozen Michelin stars to his name.
It’s a program that carries on the tradition of nurturing young chefs, which is one of the peculiar characteristics of the culinary community of Basque Country, and one of the principal reasons it is home to more Michelin stars per person than anywhere else in the world. This first edition, which started in January 2011 and running through June, is a collaboration with Michelin-starred, world-acclaimed Chef Martín Berasategui. The stages work at his three-star restaurant in Lasarte, Spain, just outside of San Sebastián in the Basque Region of Spain. The jury that chose the two winners included such culinary luminaries as Daniel Bouloud, Thomas Keller, and Pedro Subijana. BasqueStage winners receive a 6-month, all-expense-paid stage, working under the direction of Chef Berasategui. They also have an instant platform to share their experiences with other chefs and lovers of food, through blog, video and social media.
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News coming pronto about the next round of BasqueStage competition, so stay close!