Carme Ruscalleda: “This honorary degree fills me with strength and renews my commitment to my country”
News
|
Institutional
(18/12/2023)
Today, the University of Barcelona conferred an honorary degree on the chef Carme Ruscalleda, in a ceremony held in the Paranymph Hall of the Historic Building and presided over by the Rector, Joan Guàrdia. Among the audience were President Jordi Pujol, the Mayor of Sant Pol de Mar Montserrat Garrido and the Chef Joan Roca.
News
|
Institutional
18/12/2023
Today, the University of Barcelona conferred an honorary degree on the chef Carme Ruscalleda, in a ceremony held in the Paranymph Hall of the Historic Building and presided over by the Rector, Joan Guàrdia. Among the audience were President Jordi Pujol, the Mayor of Sant Pol de Mar Montserrat Garrido and the Chef Joan Roca.
The UB wanted to honour Ruscalleda, one of the undisputed leaders of Catalan gastronomy in this century, for her innovative approach and her dedication to preserving the essence of Catalan cuisine.
The sponsor was Cristina Andrés Lacueva, professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences. During her laudatio, she emphasized that "Ruscalleda fulfils the criteria for the honorary degree: she has unified tradition with innovation, she has stood out for her leadership and mastery, she has established scientific relations with the university, and she has committed herself to the creation of sustainable cuisine".
During her speech, Ruscalleda reviewed her life and professional career since she started working in her parents' shop preparing ready-made meals. "It was the embryo that gave us the strength and confidence to open the Sant Pau restaurant", she explained. “We are heirs to a cuisine that goes back a long way — she continued—, a wise, healthy cuisine, a gourmet cuisine that treats nature elegantly and seductively, with very humble recipes, both seafood and country, full of judgment and knowledge”.
She also called on the government to include a cooking and nutrition subject in schools. "We are already late, we need to train students in this subject as well. We are heirs to a culture that goes back a long way, and which is very interesting and healthy". Ruscalleda ended her speech by saying: "The honorary degree award of the University of Barcelona fills me with strength and renews my commitment to the country".
The president of the Board of Trustees, Joan Corominas, highlighted in his speech "the exceptional figure of Carme Ruscalleda, who represents the essence of university work: excellence, the generation of knowledge and the training of new generations".
The sponsor was Cristina Andrés Lacueva, professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences. During her laudatio, she emphasized that "Ruscalleda fulfils the criteria for the honorary degree: she has unified tradition with innovation, she has stood out for her leadership and mastery, she has established scientific relations with the university, and she has committed herself to the creation of sustainable cuisine".
During her speech, Ruscalleda reviewed her life and professional career since she started working in her parents' shop preparing ready-made meals. "It was the embryo that gave us the strength and confidence to open the Sant Pau restaurant", she explained. “We are heirs to a cuisine that goes back a long way — she continued—, a wise, healthy cuisine, a gourmet cuisine that treats nature elegantly and seductively, with very humble recipes, both seafood and country, full of judgment and knowledge”.
She also called on the government to include a cooking and nutrition subject in schools. "We are already late, we need to train students in this subject as well. We are heirs to a culture that goes back a long way, and which is very interesting and healthy". Ruscalleda ended her speech by saying: "The honorary degree award of the University of Barcelona fills me with strength and renews my commitment to the country".
The president of the Board of Trustees, Joan Corominas, highlighted in his speech "the exceptional figure of Carme Ruscalleda, who represents the essence of university work: excellence, the generation of knowledge and the training of new generations".
The UB rewards the innovative approach of the only chef to have held seven Michelin stars, a great defender of the essence of Catalan cuisine.
Finally, the Rector closed the ceremony with a speech in which he emphasized that the awardee "represents a series of values that have been ours since 1403". He also vindicated the fundamental value of effort, work and the management of failure exemplified by Ruscalleda's career, and advocated the "transmission of this knowledge to the younger generations, as a peremptory requirement to be able to face the future with guarantees and hope".
Carme Ruscalleda (Sant Pol de Mar, 1952) is the only chef to have been awarded seven Michelin stars. Self-taught, she has always sought to disseminate a gastronomic culture based on traditional Catalan cuisine and close to popular tastes, with touches of modernity. Her merits include his exceptional creativity, her skill and her contributions to Catalan cuisine. She is also an inescapable source of inspiration for novice chefs. She has played an active role in mentoring new talent and has thus contributed to the development of the next generation of chefs in Catalonia.
Flickr
