50 Next unveils the new generation of food industry pioneers

Today, the organisation behind the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and 50 Best Bars has given us a glimpse into the future of gastronomy by announcing the first edition of 50 Next, a list celebrating young pioneers from the global food industry. This new initiative is designed to drive the next generation forward whilst also creating a network between the world’s most promising young minds. Celebrating innovators aged 35 and under across the whole of hospitality, from food and drink producers and educators to tech creators and activists, the lineup is a diverse representation of the sector as a whole and an indication of new and exciting directions to come. In 2022, once travel restrictions are relaxed, the announcement will be followed by a live event in the Basque Country, Spain.

A list but not a ranking, 50 Next specifically celebrates people, complementing the annual rankings of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Bars. It was formed through robust research and analysis by 50 Next and the internationally renowned Basque Culinary Center, following an overwhelming response to open calls for applications and nominations and a proactive scouting for candidates. At a time of much-needed global recovery, the initiative promotes positive, sustainable and visionary thinking.

The inaugural list aims to represent the diversity of the global gastronomic scene, featuring people from 34 different countries across six continents. Delving into the wider meaning of gastronomy, 50 Next is divided into seven industry-led categories: Gamechanging Producers; Tech Disruptors; Empowering Educators; Entrepreneurial Creatives; Science Innovators; Hospitality Pioneers (supported by S Pellegrino Young Chef Academy) and Trailblazing Activists. Each category is unranked and comprises a broad spectrum of professions, with those on the list recognised for their overall contribution to the gastronomic ecosystem, as well as their ongoing potential to drive significant positive change.

The class of 2021 includes ground-breaking Australian fish butcher Josh Niland, progressive agriculture advocate Cherrie Atilano from the Philippines, Ghanaian tech innovator Isaac Sesi, Mexican indigenous pioneer Claudia Albertina Ruiz and Jhannel Tomlinson, a Jamaican climate change champion who empowers women through coffee. The youngest on the list is 20-year-old Basque medical student Maitane Alonso Monasterio, who has invented a machine to preserve food. Full information about each person can be found on the 50 Next website here.

William Drew, director of content for 50 Best, says: “As the world of gastronomy strives to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic, it is more important than ever for us to support, empower and celebrate those at every level of the food and drink chain. By bringing together this truly diverse list of young people with the support of the Basque Culinary Center, the Biscay region and the wider 50 Best family, we pledge to nurture, uplift and provide a platform for those fighting for a brighter future for gastronomy. 50 Next allows us to connect today’s leaders with the next generation.”

With an open call for applications and nominations in late 2020, 50 Next breaks from the organisation’s traditional model of anonymous voting. A total of 700 candidates were considered from direct applications, nominations by third parties and talent scouted by the team of experts at the Basque Culinary Center, 50 Next’s Academic Partner. All finalists were subject to in-depth interviews and robust analysis before being selected.

Joxe Mari Aizega, director of the Basque Culinary Center, says: “Since its inception ten years ago, the center has understood gastronomy to cover multiple sectors that encompass a 360° vision of the sector. The people on the 50 Next list selected by our team of experts represent this multidisciplinary, unifying and contemporary vision. Furthermore, in a global context marked by the uncertainty brought by Covid-19 and the global challenges we face, it is vital to support and recognise young talent, something that the Basque Culinary Center is doing via several initiatives. The people on the list make up a diverse mosaic that will shape the present and future vision of the sector.”

Next year, 50 Next will develop further with a live event programme in Bilbao, in the Biscay region of the Basque Country, to celebrate those on both the 2021 and 2022 lists, foment conversation and foster new relationships within the gastronomic community. This live programme will also feature representatives from the Best of the Best group of restaurants that have previously been ranked No.1 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants annual list.

As the first global list of its kind, 50 Next includes five people based in Africa, six in Asia, one in the Caribbean, 18 in Europe, seven in Latin America, two in the Middle East, three in Australasia and eight in the USA. While there are 29 countries of residence featured, there are 34 countries of origin, owing to the fact that many young innovators have left their home countries to settle in tech, business or educational hubs such as the UK and US.

50 Next: Class of 2021

Gamechanging Producers

• –  Manuel Choqque, 33 – Cusco, Peru
• –  Clara Diez, 29 – Madrid, Spain
• –  Marianne Eaves, 34 – Lexington, USA
• –  Mark Emil Hermansen, 35 – Copenhagen, Denmark
• –  Louise Mabulo, 22 – San Fernando, Philippines
• –  Josh Niland, 32 – Sydney, Australia
• –  Jennifer Rodriguez, 34 – Mesitas del Colegio, Colombia
• –  Gian Marco Viano, 34 – Carema, Italy
• –  Mikel Zapiain, 33 and Ion Zapiain, 30 – San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain

Tech Disruptors

• –  Katerina Axelsson, 29 – San Luis Obispo, USA (from Russia)
• –  Matias Muchnick, 32 – New York, USA (from Chile)
• –  Jonathan Ng, 30 – Singapore
• –  Solveiga Pakštaitė, 28 – London, UK (from Lithuania)
• –  Abby Rose, 33 – London, UK, and Chile
• –  Isaac Sesi, 28 – Kumasi, Ghana –

Empowering Educators

• –  Mariana Aleixo, 33 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• –  Cherrie Atilano, 35 – Makati City, Philippines
• –  Josh Gilbert, 29 – Gloucester, Australia
• –  Siddhi Karnani, 30 and Anurag Agarwal, 34 – Siliguri, India
• –  Ievgen Klopotenko, 34 – Kiev, Ukraine
• –  Dieuveil Malonga, 29 – Kigali, Rwanda (from Congo)
• –  Maureen Muketha, 25 – Nairobi, Kenya
• –  Edward Mukiibi, 34 – Mukono Town, Uganda
• –  Ted Rosner, 33 and Max Dubiel, 33 – London, UK (from UK and Germany, respectively)

Entrepreneurial Creatives

• –  Ata Cengiz, 28 – Istanbul, Turkey
• –  Jon Gray, 35 – New York, USA
• –  Sana Javeri Kaori, 27 – Oakland, USA (from India)
• –  Adelaide Lala Tam, 27 – Rotterdam, Netherlands (from Hong Kong)
• –  Divya Mohan, 29 – Lund, Sweden (from India)
• –  Natsuko Shoji, 31 – Tokyo, Japan
• –  Thiago Vinícius De Paula Da Silva, 32 – São Paulo, Brazil

Science Innovators

• –  Maitane Alonso Monasterio, 20 – Sodupe, Basque Country, Spain
• –  Leah Bessa, 30 – Cape Town, South Africa
• –  Kisum Chan, 22 (from Hong Kong) and Lincoln Lee, 23 (from Malaysia) – London, UK – and Zheyi Chia, 22, and Jonathan Ong, 24 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• –  Marc Coloma, 29 – Barcelona, Spain
• –  Kiara Nirghin, 21 – Stanford, USA (from South Africa)
• –  Leo Wezelius, 23, Angelo Demeter, 28 and Fredrik Åkerman, 24 – Stockholm, Sweden (from Sweden, Romania and Sweden, respectively)

Hospitality Pioneers, supported by S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy

• –  Jo Barrett, 32, and Matt Stone, 34 – Melbourne, Australia
• –  Ashtin Berry, 33 – Chicago, USA
• –  Douglas McMaster, 34 – London, UK
• –  Diego Prado, 35 – Copenhagen, Denmark (from Chile)
• –  Claudia Albertina Ruiz, 33 – San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico
• –  Marsia Taha, 32 – La Paz, Bolivia (from Bulgaria)
• –  David Zilber, 35 – Copenhagen, Denmark (from Canada)

Trailblazing Activists

• –  Jamie Crummie, 29 and Lucie Basch, 29 – London, UK and New York, USA (from London and Paris, respectively)
• –  Friederike Gaedke, 29 – Berlin, Germany
• –  Bibi La Luz Gonzalez, 33 – Guatemala City, Guatemala
• –  Matt Jozwiak, 33 – New York, USA
• –  Maya Terro, 34 – Beirut, Lebanon (born in Ukraine)
• –  Jhannel Tomlinson, 29 – Kingston, Jamaica

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