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Venezuelan chef wins Basque Culinary World Prize

Xinhua, July 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Venezuelan Chef Maria Fernanda Di Giacobbe won on Monday the Basque Culinary World Prize, an international award that honors chefs for making great contributions to society.

The award, launched by the Basque Culinary Center and supported by the government of the Basque region in northern Spain, consists of 100,000 euros (110,458 U.S. dollars) that the chef can use to support the project considered appropriate, taking into account the power of cuisine to transform society.

According to the center, Di Giacobbe was chosen thanks to her role in "Kakao" and "Cacao Origen" projects that help turn women into micro entrepreneurs of chocolate.

Di Giacobbe carries out workshops on chocolates, and has trained about 8,500 people, more than 94 percent of whome are women.

The prize jury, composed of chefs and other experts, made public their decision on Monday at the Balenciaga Museum in Getaria, Basque region.

Director of the Basque Culinary Center Joxe Mari Aizega called Di Giacobbe "a tangible example" of how food can contribute to society and the "responsibility that could mean to be a chef today."

Di Giacobbe was chosen from a total of 110 candidates from more than 30 countries who were nominated between February and April. The 20 finalists were chosen by a technical committee and their names were announced in May. Endit