50 Next and the Academy unveil Hospitality Pioneers of tomorrow

The organisation behind The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and The World’s 50 Best Bars, supported by the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy, has identified the Hospitality Pioneers of tomorrow as part of a list of the young people shaping the future of gastronomy.

Its inaugural 50 Next list features people from 34 countries, across six countries, all under 35, who are considered to be the next generation of leaders in food and drink. The list includes 24 women, 19 men and seven groups, scouted by the Basque Culinary Center, a gastronomic university in San Sebastián, Spain.

“By bringing together this truly diverse list of young people, 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,” says William Drew, Director of Content for 50 Best.

A list, rather than a ranking, the people-focused 50 Next is divided into seven categories: Gamechanging Producers; Tech Disruptors; Empowering Educators; Entrepreneurial Creatives; Science Innovators; Trailblazing Activists; and Hospitality Pioneers, a category supported by the Academy.

The eight 50 Next Hospitality Pioneers for this inaugural list are as follows:

Ashtin Berry (USA)

Hospitality activist, sommelier, mixologist and beverage consultant Berry has worked in hospitality since she was 16, in almost every position. In 2018 she co-founded Radical Xchange, a New Orleans-based creative content agency that aims to make hospitality spaces more equitable.

Claudia Albertina Ruiz (Mexico)

Ruiz was the first indigenous woman to enter the school of gastronomy at the Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas (UNICACH). She later worked at Enrique Olvera’s Pujol in Mexico City, before opening her own restaurant, Kokonó, in 2016, focused on indigenous food culture and products.

David Zilber (Canada)

Formerly head of Noma’s fermentation lab in Copenhagen, Toronto-born Zilber now works in partnership with Chr. Hansen, a global bioscience company that develops natural solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries, in order to affect real change in the food system.

Diego Prado (Chile)

Constantly in search of innovation, Prado has worked in some of the world’s best kitchens, including Boragó in his native Chile, and Noma, taught at the Basque Culinary Center and is now head of research and development at one of the world’s most creative restaurants – Alchemist in Copenhagen.

Douglas McMaster (UK)

McMaster is the chef-owner of Silo in London (via Brighton), the world’s first 100% zero-waste restaurant. The Sheffield-born chef’s zero-waste philosophy extends to everything from the food, to the furniture, fixtures and fittings, with tables upcycled from food packaging and lampshades grown from fungi.

Jo Barrett and Matt Stone (Australia)

Business and real-life partners Barrett and Stone also follow a zero-waste philosophy (and worked alongside McMaster in Australia) and are currently heading up artist/eco-crusader Joost Bakker’s Greenhouse-Future Food System, an experimental sustainability project in Melbourne.

Marsia Taha (Bolivia)

Born in Sofia (Bulgaria) and raised in Bolivia, Taha is head chef at pioneering La Paz restaurant Gustu, as well as the founder of Sabores Silvestres, a multidisciplinary group of chefs and scientists that aims to promote the conservation of Bolivia’s biodiversity, its food heritage and gastronomic culture.

The Academy will involve a selection of the Pioneers in its 2021/22 educational program as lecturers. Alongside the most renowned members of the gastronomic world, who are already contributing to the Academy, they will have the opportunity to share their experiences, inspiring and connecting with hundreds of passionate young chefs.

See the full 50 Next list in the video below.