Gain a comprehensive vision of contemporary cuisine

The Master’s in Advanced Cookery is designed for chefs seeking to consolidate the technical foundations of the profession and take a qualitative leap in their career. Throughout the program you will acquire tools to achieve culinary excellence, expand your management skills and develop a comprehensive vision of contemporary cuisine, where technique, sustainability and leadership come together.

The aim of the Master’s is to train you as a contemporary chef, able to understand and master the technical foundations of cookery; from how products behave to their relationship with technique, managing teams, costs and resources efficiently. You will learn not only to cook, but to lead a section, lead cooks and take on both human and financial management responsibilities, essential aspects of a professional kitchen.

Your learning journey will be guided by a diverse team of expert lecturers covering key areas of Gastronomy: from the kitchen, front-of-house and team and cost management, to culinary chemistry, pastry and gastronomic offer design. During the program you will also have international chefs and leading figures who will share their experience in PRO Seminars, showcookings and masterclasses. Previous editions have featured names such as Aitor Arregi (Elkano), Mario Sandoval, Albert Boronat, Fernando Aréllano, Dabiz Muñoz and Elena Arzak, among others, covering topics from management and creativity to the history and evolution of Basque cuisine.

Upon completing the Master’s, you will be prepared to take on key roles in different areas related to professional cookery, in both creative and operational settings. The training will enable you to access positions of responsibility in high-level kitchens and will open the door to concrete job opportunities in the centers where internships take place, as most students continue working or access new roles at the end of the program.

*Career examples: students have accessed roles such as Sous Chef in leading hotels, such as Hotel María Cristina (Donostia - San Sebastián), or as Chefs de Partie in high-end gastronomy business models such as restaurants with one or two Michelin stars.

*If required for academic or organizational reasons, some sessions may be scheduled in the afternoon.

The Master’s in Advanced Cookery is delivered through the Learning by Doing methodology, an approach based on learning by doing. Throughout the program, students practice, experiment and work in teams, turning knowledge into real experience. The structure of the master’s combines theoretical classes with practical sessions and applied projects, organized in progressive phases that allow them to move from technical foundations to professional application in real settings.

• Masterclasses and presentations on fundamental culinary techniques and operational management, delivered by experts from the gastronomic field.
• Case studies with debate and strategic analysis, focused on the impact of history, professional ethics and the values of contemporary cuisine, integrating aspects such as allergens, food quality and sustainability.
• Practical challenges and problem-solving dynamics that strengthen skills such as decision-making, leadership in the kitchen, operational planning and culinary innovation.
• Gastronomic activities: tastings, samplings, sensory analysis workshops and sensory experiences focused on the technical-nutritional knowledge of ingredients.
• Masterclasses with leading figures in the sector such as Albert Adrià, Ángel León, Albert Boronat, Mario Sandoval or Toshi Narisawa.
• Simulations and practice in real settings, such as the Restaurant Workshop, a space open to the public where you will put the knowledge acquired into practice for 5 weeks in a full service with real customers.

During the master’s you will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired in real settings, joining kitchen teams of reference both nationally and internationally. From Basque Culinary Center we manage your internship taking into account your profile, your interests and the opportunities available.

Before starting, you will have an informative session and personalized support from academic coordination, which will help you identify the most suitable destinations and adjust your professional expectations.

Internships last three months full-time, with the possibility of extension, and are a real opportunity for labor insertion: most participants continue working or access new positions at the end of the program. If you have consolidated professional experience, you will be able to validate the internship by submitting the corresponding documentation.

Examples of internship destinations in previous editions:

Students from previous editions have interned in high-end gastronomic restaurants both nationally and internationally, collaborating with some of the most influential projects on the current culinary scene.

• Internationally: Alchemist (Denmark), Noma (Denmark), Mirazur (France), The Glove (United Kingdom), and Osteria Francescana (Massimo Bottura, Italy), among others.
• Nationally: El Celler de Can Roca, DiverXO, Mugaritz, Quique Dacosta, Elkano, Le Invernadero (Rodrigo de la Calle), Akelarre and Arrea!, among other restaurants of reference.

Throughout the program you will experience two Learning Journeys, learning experiences outside the classroom that will allow you to understand gastronomy from its origin and across its entire value chain.

You will visit restaurants, markets, wineries and production centers linked to agriculture, livestock farming and fishing, observing first-hand how the processes and decisions that define contemporary cuisine are articulated.

Examples of experiences from previous editions:

• Salt Valley of Añana and restaurant Almazen, to learn about the link between territory and product.
• Ordizia Market, a historic epicenter of Basque gastronomic trade, where distribution processes and the freshness of products such as Gula del Norte were analyzed.
• Txakoli HIKA and Restaurante Frontón de Tolosa, to understand collaboration models between wineries and restaurants.
• Visits to cheese dairies, wineries and local producers, where students were able to talk directly with those who sustain the gastronomic identity of the area.

These experiences take place in San Sebastián and its surroundings, a privileged context where gastronomy is lived every day inside and outside the classroom.

PRO Seminars complement the training with inspiring encounters with some of the most influential professionals on the gastronomic scene. Through talks, workshops and demonstrations, students access diverse views on creativity, management, tradition or culinary innovation.

Among the speakers and outstanding experiences of previous editions:

• Aitor Arregi (Elkano): the value of the product and grill cookery.
• Mario Sandoval: financial management applied to the restaurant sector.
• Dabiz Muñoz: creativity, innovation and the development of new projects.
• Albert Boronat: the importance of traditional cuisine and sauces.
• Fernando Aréllano: ideation, storytelling and creative processes.
• Arzak Challenge: a research project and reinterpretation of the history of New Basque Cuisine. Students design an 18-course tasting menu inspired by the evolution of restaurant Arzak, culminating in a presentation before Elena Arzak and J.M. Aizega.

In the TFM you will put into practice everything you have learned during the Master’s. You will have individual tutoring from specialized lecturers and professionals, who will accompany you throughout the process of conceptualization, development and presentation in which, together with your classmates, you will conceptualize a gastronomic proposal and bring it to life in the restaurant of Basque Culinary Center. There you will cook and serve real customers, facing the challenge of a professional service and receiving direct feedback to keep improving. It will be a unique opportunity to live from the inside the experience of creating, managing and refining a real culinary project.

The final defense takes place before a panel of experts, assessing both the technical quality and the professional viability of the project.

In some cases, the TFM is integrated with professional internships in prestigious restaurants such as Quique Dacosta, Le Invernadero, Akelarre or Arrea!, making it possible to extend the stay and consolidate the experience in haute cuisine settings.

The Master’s in Advanced Cookery has a teaching team made up of professionals in the field of gastronomy. This team combines academic experience with a practical approach, integrating experts and lecturers from both the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences (Basque Culinary Center) and specialized professionals from leading companies and institutions in the sector.

The Master’s also incorporates the participation of organizations, as well as recognized experts from industry, who provide an up-to-date perspective. This teaching team may vary in each edition to ensure the best combination of specialized knowledge and innovative perspectives. For example:

The Master’s in Advanced Cookery has an admission process that ensures candidates have the academic level and competencies needed to successfully complete a demanding study program.

This Master’s is aimed both at professionals with university studies and at those who, without holding a university degree, can demonstrate relevant experience in the sector.

The admission system of Basque Culinary Center has a dual objective:

• To ensure that candidates have the academic level and personal competencies needed to successfully take on an innovative and practical study program.
• To check that the Master’s meets the training needs and interests of the candidates.

Complete the online registration and pay the registration fee of 150 € (fully refundable if you are not admitted).

Complete the Application Questionnaire, which will allow us to get to know your profile and your interests in the Master’s better. To do so, please have the following documents ready:

• Updated Curriculum Vitae.
• 1 passport-sized photo.
• Copy of your ID card or passport.
• Academic certificate of the studies completed (transcript, diploma or certificate). –Submitting certificates is not compulsory, but their inclusion will be valued positively if you have them.

• Take part in the online personal interview with the Master’s Coordinator, an opportunity to get to know you better, resolve doubts and raise questions about the program.
• Both the documentation submitted and the outcome of the interview will be assessed.
• You will receive the admission decision together with the next steps to follow.

If you are admitted, you will need to pay 25% of the Master’s fee within the indicated period to reserve your place.

To take a training program lasting more than 90 days, students from countries outside the Schengen area (check the list of countries) need to apply for a LONG-TERM STUDENT VISA in order to reside legally in Spain. The Faculty will provide each student with the documentation needed to process the visa once the place reservation has been confirmed.

In addition, the student must complete the remaining requirements indicated by the Embassy of Spain. You can check the full process in this section on procedures before travelling. Basque Culinary Center will provide the following academic documentation, required for visa processing:

• Enrollment certificate signed and stamped by Basque Culinary Center.
• Training program stamped by Basque Culinary Center.
• Academic calendar stamped by Basque Culinary Center.