Category : BasqueStage, Registration, Rules, Sammic Scholarship, Selection Process
Disculpa, pero esta entrada está disponible sólo en English.
Disculpa, pero esta entrada está disponible sólo en English.
Disculpa, pero esta entrada está disponible sólo en English.
Disculpa, pero esta entrada está disponible sólo en English.
Disculpa, pero esta entrada está disponible sólo en English.
Category : BasqueStage, Selection Process, Star Chefs
Disculpa, pero esta entrada está disponible sólo en English.
If you follow BasqueStage via Twitter, Facebook, or our blog, you know that our current stages, Marco and Cameron, are working hard and playing hard in the kitchen of Martín Berasategui.
You may also know they have a privileged position, learning as stages in a three-star restaurant but with all their expenses paid, as special Sammic scholars.
But do you know that it’s almost time to begin the III Sammic Scholarship for BasqueStage application process? And that you, or an aspiring chef you know, has the chance to do the same?
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. The stages work at Berasategui’s three-star restaurant in Lasarte, Spain, just outside of San Sebastián in the Basque Region of Spain. The jury that chooses the two winners is packed with culinary luminaries, such as Daniel Bouloud, Thomas Keller, and Pedro Subijana. BasqueStage winners receive a 6-month, all-expense-paid stage and have an instant platform to share their experiences with other chefs and lovers of food, through blog, video and social media.
Tracy Chang and Athena Thickstun were the winners of the first round of BasqueStage, which took place from January 2011 to June 2011. Their rich experience here, immersed in the kitchen life at Martín Berasategui as well as the enchanting community of Basque Country, has been chronicled for you to enjoy. You can read about their past adventures, and what they’ve gotten up to since then, on their blogs: tracyfearless.com and athenathickstun.com). Or if you’re wondering what advice they would leave to their successors, on the BasqueStage blog they left two letters of advice for all future stages.
Our II Sammic Scholars, the promising young cooks Marco Bahena and Cameron Rolka, are still in their honeymoon period at the restaurant. Follow them by the minute on the adventure of a lifetime!
Do you want to be the next Sammic Scholar for BasqueStage? As we’ve mentioned, for the third round of BasqueStage, we are opening the scholarship up to all nationalities! While the previous grants were limited to the USA, the amount of interest from other countries has prompted us to open the playing field to young cooks everywhere. We are in the process of contacting schools, restaurants, media and others about BasqueStage. If you need more information, all you have to do is contact us at info@basquestage.com.
Sign up for our newsletter for the latest in BasqueStage news, in the kitchens at Martin Berasategui, and in Basque Country.
To keep up with BasqueStage, you can follow us on Twitter or Facebook, in addition to keeping up with the official blog.
Yesterday we unveiled the first half of the jury that has judged the II Sammic BasqueStage winners.
The second half of the jury is made up of three more great chefs, plus one (unmistakable) media personality. Together, they have helped decide the two lucky winners that will be announced later today.
Hilario Arbelaitz
At Zuberoa Restaurant, Hilario Arbelaitz offers a flavoursome, imaginative cuisine with strong contrasts, using the finest local products. Hilario sets out to woo diners with his exquisite creamy dishes and his cuisine might be considered to mark the highest level of gastronomic craftsmanship.
Philippe Labbé
Philippe Labbé is a French chef that cooked at the two-Michelin-star Chevre d’Or before being recruited to Paris last year. He now oversees the dining at the luxurious Shangri-La Hotel, at the restaurants La Bauhinia and L’Abeille. He manages to unite tradition and modernity, respecting local techniques and adapting them in order to create new flavors.
Jean-François Piège
Jean-François Piège is a French chef who used to be at the helm of Les Ambassadeurs in Paris, a two-star Michelin in Hotel Crillon. He has recently opened a 20-seat restaurant to showcase his simple and elegant French cooking above his other eatery, La Brasserie Thoumieux. Michelin awarded his new venture 2 stars within months of his opening.
David de Jorge
David de Jorge is the right hand man of Martín Berasategui and a genuine media beast. He promotes a natural and -in his words- “no-bullshit” cooking style for everyday’s life. He also hosts one of today’s most promising Spanish cooking TV shows, from right behind the Berasategui restaurant.
Also on the jury are Sammic’s Managing and Marketing directors Jon Markina and Amaia Altuna.
Come back later today for the announcement…
Joan Roca. Pedro Subijana. Quique Dacosta.
Besides being celebrities in the culinary field, these chefs share another common thread.
These three star chefs form the first half of the second 2011 Sammic Scholarship. They have helped decide which two lucky winners get an all-expense paid stage at Martín Berasategui’s restaurant in Lasarte, Spain.
Joan Roca
Joan Roca is head chef at El Celler de Can Roca, the restaurant in Catalunya currently ranked number two in the world. He and his brothers founded the restaurant, which is in Girona, Spain, in 1986. They create a cuisine based in nostalgia, childhood aromas and flavors, but very much of today.
Pedro Subijana
Student of the renowned master of chefs Luis Irizar, Pedro Subijana has created a restaurant in San Sebastián, Akelarre, that has been endowed with highest honors by prestigious gastronomic guides. He is recognized as a s culinary master, by audiences around the world. He also has a prolific television career, having recorded more than 1400 shows since 1992.
Quique Dacosta
Quique Dacosta’s restaurant, of the same name, is located in Denia, near Valencia, and boasts two Michelin stars. Dacosta is a widely-recognized and rewarded Spanish chef, with national and international culinary accolades under his belt, including chef of the year by Lo Mejor de la Gastronomia.
The announcement, coming tomorrow, will be made from Restaurant Martín Berasategui, by chef himself. Stay tuned for the big day!