Turkish chef wins Basque Culinary World Prize

ISTANBUL

Turkish chef Ebru Baybara Demir has been named the 2023 Basque Culinary World Prize winner for utilizing gastronomy as a powerful force for integration, empowering women from both Türkiye and Syria, dismantling prejudices, and showcasing the riches of cultural exchange.

The Basque Culinary World Prize (BCWP), created by the Basque Government and Basque Culinary World Prize, is dedicated to recognizing the transformative power of gastronomy by sharing inspiring tales of chefs making positive impacts beyond the kitchen.

According to the statement made by the prize committee, Demir uses her culinary prowess as a catalyst for social change. She tackles pressing sociocultural issues, focusing on multicultural integration, employment training, and environmental sustainability. In the aftermath of devastating earthquakes, Chef Demir provided hot meals to thousands through the “Gönül Mutfağı” network.

For over two decades, she has diversified her methods to generate impactful change, collaborating with international organizations, local governments, public-private entities, and local cooperatives.

In Mardin, she merged culinary arts with tourism and development. Encouraging local women to establish their own kitchens in historical homes to cater to foreign visitors, she not only created job opportunities but also bolstered the tourism industry.

Demir is currently supporting From Soil to Plate, an agricultural development cooperative, as part of which Mardin-based volunteers focus on increasing the production and consumption of local, ancestral grains such as sorgül, in addition to making products like soaps and jams, all being sold online.

She is involved in biodegradable waste management for farmers’ markets in Diyarbakır. The goal is to take advantage of discarded fruits and vegetables to produce agricultural fertilizers.

In addition, the jury has recognized the work of two other chefs, awarding special mentions to Nicole Pisani (U.K.) for her groundbreaking approach to revolutionizing catering to children at school by focusing on nourishing both body and mind, and Heidi Bjerkan (Norway) for implementing diverse restaurant models grounded in the circular economy.