The American Leticia Landa has won the 2025 Basque Culinary World Prize

The American Leticia Landa of Mexican origin has won the 2025 Basque Culinary Worl Prize for her work on the project\ u00A0  'La Cocina', a project aimed at talented people from marginalized communities who want to enter the world of cooking in San Francisco, USA. 

The name of the winner of the tenth edition of the award has been announced at the Talaia Congress held in the newly opened space Gastronomy Open Ecosystem (GOe). 

A video about the country has been shown during the event, which will be awarded in November at a ceremony in San Sebastian, but he has explained that the award is a recognition of a collective work, of the "effort of many people who in 20 years have firmly embraced the mission of 'La Cocina'". 

"It is an honor to receive this award on behalf of all of us who have worked at La Cocina and put our strength into their business, who, by sharing their stories with me, have shown me what they are capable of doing. I share this award with all my past and present colleagues," said Landa. 

A pioneering prize of EUR 100 000 is promoted by the Basque Government and the BCC and rewards people who use cooking as a tool for social transformation in areas such as sustainability, food education, health, nutrition, cultural integration, local economic development, biodiversity and scientific innovation. 

The jury, chaired by Joan Roca, has been made up of some of the world's leading cooks, who have explained that it has not been "easy" to choose between many "wonderful proposals," but in the end the jurors agreed to recognize Landa's "fundamental role" in the "La Cocina" initiative.

This project creates "opportunities for training, incubation and support so that beneficiaries can" lead and make their businesses profitable "and make them" part of the productive heart of cities, so that they can transform their environments through gastronomy. "

In addition, the jury has awarded special mentions to João Diamond for his work in Brazil, which uses his gastronomic training as "a tool to transcend the limits of oneself", and to Matthew Evans for his contribution as an publicizer in Australia to "raising awareness of the challenges of producing food in an ethical and sustainable manner". 

Leticia Landa was born in Texas and, as the daughter of Mexican immigrants, "she knows very well what it's like to be integrated into a community other than her own through work and education."

"Dividing his time between cooking and volunteering initiatives, he studied anthropology. He joined 'La Cocina' in 2008, where his role has been key to the development of the project, which currently has about 100 businesses networked, some starting and others already consolidated," the BCC said in a statement.

More than 40 restaurants, cafes and kiosks in San Francisco Bay have gone through the "La Cocina" program. One of the biggest achievements is that 70 percent of participants have active businesses in that program ten years after graduating.