Quique Dacosta Gold Medal for merit in the Fine Arts 2020

The three Michelin starred chef Quique Dacosta has been awarded with the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts 2020. Upon the proposal of the Minister of Culture and Sports, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, the cabinet has granted such awards to different personalities of the cultural sector who have stood out in the “field of artistic and cultural creation” or who “have rendered significant services for the promotion, development, or dissemination of the arts and culture, or for the preservation of the artistic heritage.”

The chef happily welcomed the news by stating: “I feel utterly honoured to represent the gastronomy, cuisine, and hospitality sectors by receiving this award in such a difficult year for us all”. He also had words of gratitude for the “consideration for gastronomy” shown by the Minister of Culture. This award represents not only “substantial endorsement of our work but also of a sector with incredible talent”, he pointed out.

He also took the time to thank his professional family when stating “my team is an essential part of my life: without them this award wouldn’t have been possible”. He then proceeded to mention all of those people who, thanks to their hard work, make auteur cuisine gain importance every year: “This award also goes to those suppliers, producers, farmers, stockbreeders, and fishermen who make huge efforts so that we can have the tools we need to tell our stories”.

This year’s most important cultural awards were granted to the composer and singer Pau Donés, the actors Antonio Resines, Adriana Ozores, Emma Suárez, Carlos Hipólito, and Álvaro Luna, the designer Andrés Sardá, the singer Rosario Flores, the film directors Montxo Armendáriz and Alex de la Iglesia, the flamenco dancers Sara Baras and Antonio Canales, the musicians Manolo García and Gustavo Dudamel, the soprano María Bayo, and the philosopher Emilio Lledó, amongst others.

Dacosta, who was also granted a Doctoral Degree of Fine Arts in 2013, has become an international gastronomic reference due to his outstanding creativity and avant-garde culinary language. In fact, his work takes him to constantly explore the territory in his search to innovate and never lose sight of his intention to share his findings.

The chef, who was granted the Award for the Best Spanish Restaurant Entrepreneur by the Royal Academy of Gastronomy last year, has managed to place his three Michelin star restaurant amongst the best ranked by the most prestigious world lists, such as Opinionated About Dining, which has ranked it amongst the top ten European restaurants over the past five years, and actually ranked it number one over two periods on a row.

The chef is also the creator and gastronomic director of the Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid, which is to open in the coming months, besides being the owner and creator of El Poblet (2 Michelin stars), Vuelve Carolina, Llisa Negra, Marcatabar, and ArrosQD, his most international restaurant located in the heart of London.

Dacosta has also gone beyond the borders of gastronomy thanks to his creativity by becoming the presenter and coproducer of Una Vida Una Cena (One Life One Dinner), a hit series on Amazon, in which Dacosta represents the life and feelings of several culture and sports personalities through his cuisine.

Moreover, the beauty and artistic inspiration of his cuisine have been the object of research and analysis by one of the most renowned publicists, Toni Segarra, and The Mediapro Studio, who cocreated Cocinar Belleza (Cooking Beauty), a documentary inspired by his work.