BBVA is once again teaming up with the famed Roca brothers to bring a once-in-a-lifetime experience to clients, prospects and community leaders, this time in the Austin market.

The partnership between BBVA and the Girona-based restaurant has brought chef Joan Roca back to Turkey. Following the Roca brothers’ 2015 success in the Ottoman country, documented in the film ‘The Turkish Way,’ the eldest of the Roca brothers has returned to Istanbul to share his business model with Garanti BBVA employees and customers.

The initiative started by chef Jordi Roca, which sought to raise awareness of conditions affecting the sense of taste, was a resounding success. The ambitious project was captured in the documentary “El sentido del cacao” (The Sense of Cocoa), which won six Stevie awards – one of the most prestigious awards in the advertising industry.

The World’s 50 Best unveiled this year’s list of the world’s best restaurants. Chef Mauro Colagreco’s Mirazur restaurant was named the world’s best, while winners from past editions – including El Celler de Can Roca, named the world’s best in 2013 and 2015 – were inducted into the newly created ‘Best of the Best’ category. Andersen Lee, a young up-and-comer received the award recognizing him as the winner of the 50 Best BBVA traineeship.

Andersen Lee, an aspiring, young chef from Montreal (Canada) has been named recipient of the scholarship that is jointly awarded by BBVA and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Lee has been chosen from among the applicants from more than 70 countries. He will be able to perfect his culinary training working side by side with the prestigious chefs, Julien Royer, Clare Smyth, and Jorge Vallejo.

The World’s 50 Best organization, which every year publishes the list of the world’s best dining destinations, has announced that, as of next year, all restaurants taking the top spot in past editions – including El Celler de Can Roca, named world’s best in 2013 and 2015 – will be ascended to a new category, named ‘Best of the Best’, and will no longer be eligible for the annual list.

After working at the Mugaritz restaurant, Jessie Liu of Taiwan went abroad to continue her training at the Atelier Crenn restaurant in San Francisco. There she spent six weeks working for chef Dominique Crenn. This gave her the opportunity to discover new professional flavors and improve as a chef in two of the best restaurants in the world.

Pastry chef Jordi Roca introduced his new book ‘Casa Cacao’ (‘Cocoa House’), a cookbook full of creations where chocolate plays the leading role. Co-authored with food journalist Ignacio Medina, this cookbook is also an encyclopedic dedication to cocoa and follows both men on their journey through various parts of Latin America in search of the best chocolate in the world. The launch of the book in Madrid included participation from Oscar Moya, BBVA’s Director of Global Sponsorships and Corporate Content, and Lydia Diaz, Director of Planeta Gastro, a Spanish publishing house specializing in gastronomy. This book is a prelude to a gastronomic venue that Jordi Roca will open next year in Girona, in northeastern Spain. BBVA will produce a documentary to accompany the kick-off of the new venue.

Aspiring chefs from all around the world can land a place on a prestigious scholarship scheme, with the launch of the 50 Best BBVA Scholarship from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA). Entries are now open for the initiative, which is its second year.

Joan Roca, a world-renowned chef and co-owner of El Celler de Can Roca, the world’s no. 2 restaurant in 2018, traveled to Manhattan this week with BBVA Compass to treat bank clients to dinners for two nights in the heart of the city.

BBVA Compass, as part of its mission to bring the age of opportunity to everyone, is bringing world-class chef Joan Roca to Manhattan to host and serve two dinners at Cipriani Wall Street on September 18 and 19 for select attendees.

Mugaritz celebrates its 20th anniversary, welcoming a special guest. For five weeks, Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz hosted the winner of the 50 Best BBVA Scholarship in his kitchen. The Taiwanese native, Jessie Liu, used her time in this gastronomic spot to soak up all she could from the team at Muguritz. Now, she will complete her training at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco for the second part of the scholarship.

The 2018 updates to the prestigious list of the world’s best restaurants were announced in Bilbao. Chef Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana took the top spot of “The World’s 50 Best” ranking. El Celler de Can Roca took second place, thus celebrating 10 years in the top five of the world’s best restaurants. Mauro Colagreco’s Mirazur rounded out the podium in third place this year. The winner of the first ever 50 Best BBVA Scholarship was also introduced during the ceremony. Taiwanese Jessie Liu will join the team at Andoni Luis Aduriz’s Mugaritz in the upcoming weeks.

Rocambolesc, Jordi Roca’s ice-cream parlor chain, with locations in Madrid, Barcelona, Girona and Alicante, is gearing up for the summer season with the Icephone, a new popsicle that aims to round off an already fantastic menu. The youngest of the Roca brothers presented this smartphone-shaped creation as a tribute to the BBVA app, which was recognized as the world’s best in 2017, and recently renewed the same distinction at European level.

Jessie Liu, a 24-year-old chef from Taipei, Taiwan, has been announced as the first ever recipient of the 50 Best BBVA Scholarship. The scholarship, developed in conjunction with global financial group BBVA, has been created to nurture the legacy of culinary excellence which the annual awards promotes, with entries open to aspiring chefs from across the globe. Over 1,000 ambitious cooks from 82 different countries applied for the single scholarship.

Palace Resorts – the company that sets the standard in five-star, all-inclusive resort accommodations –proudly announces El Celler de Can Roca Experience, a unique gastronomic experience in partnership with three-Michelin-star Chef, Joan Roca and BBVA Bancomer, to Moon Palace Cancun, on May 8th & 9th, 2018. The exclusive dinners will benefit the rebuilding of schools in Mexico City that were destroyed during the country’s recent natural disasters.

Los Angeles-based food blogger, author and home cook Veronica Hendrix was announced last week as the winner of the BBVA Compass Student Chef Experience Sweepstakes, getting a rare opportunity for a hands-on training with a top culinary mind at the All-Star Chef Classic last weekend at L.A. LIVE.

Some of the brightest stars from the worlds of entertainment, sports and more came together last night to raise funds for the Elton John Aids Foundation (EJAF) at the nonprofit’s annual Oscars watch party and dinner in West Hollywood.

Now in its 26th year, the Academy Awards Viewing Party was hosted by Sir Elton John and David Furnish. As one of the co-sponsors, BBVA Compass was honored to bring its brand ambassadors, the Roca Brothers of the Michelin three-star restaurant El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, to design and prepare dinner for the event’s more than 900 guests, all in support of EJAF’s important fundraising initiatives addressing the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the United States, Canada and Latin America.

Fair-trade coffee, quality guarantee, ecological tomatoes… consumers read the labels on the things they eat. But is there any way of checking that what they say is correct? In order to do so, you would need a register of the processes to which the product has been submitted, something blockchain can do.

The life of a salmon is a round-trip journey. Immediately after birth, it travels down river to the sea, where it lives until the time comes to procreate. The salmon them swims upriver, overcoming all obstacles, and reaches the same spot where its journey began – a point of departure to which it arrives enriched from everything it learned on the way, and determined to leave a mark on its birthplace.

On Sunday March 4, the global capital of the film industry will once again don formal dress to announce its highest honors. During the ceremony, celebrities will attend a number of parties but without a doubt, one of the most popular and long-awaited will be the charity dinner hosted by Elton John each year to collect funds for his foundation. This year, the Roca brothers, the celebrated restaurateurs of Girona, will be in charge of the preparing a special menu for the occasion – a menu not just for the stars, but for a good cause.

Over 1,000 aspiring chefs and culinary students from around the world have submitted applications to take part in the scholarship program launched by BBVA in early January, in partnership with The World’s 50 Best Restaurants organization. The winner, who will be announced on April 18 and presented in Bilbao at the annual The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony in June, will get the chance to complete a training program in restaurants Mugaritz, in San Sebastian, Spain, and Atelier Crenn, in San Francisco, California.

Nothing escapes from the whirlwind of digitization, not even a sector as traditional as the winemaking industry. The number of startups dedicated to improving the way this centuries-old alcoholic beverage is produced, marketed and enjoyed keeps growing. In this article we take a look at some of the most-talked about companies.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants organisation and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) have established the 50 Best BBVA Scholarship, which will provide unique opportunities for aspiring chefs from all around the world.

One of the top chefs in the world visited Denver last week, delighting guests with whimsically designed dishes, unique wine pairings and an atmosphere usually found in a small part of Spain.

When a storm of controversy erupted in Spain about the alleged mistreatment of interns in Michelin-starred restaurants, there were some surprised faces in the world of haute cuisine. It is true that in this sector, which has been so fashionable for a number of years, there are still those who are in favor of a training system of the “no pain, no gain” type; but these implacable instructors coexist side by side with maestros who, like the Roca brothers, have for a number of years been committed to a humanist revolution in the kitchens.

Vacationing is easier with a smartphone at hand and a handful of essential apps for the beach, the mountain or the city. Whether to save on fuel, park in the shade or find the nearest public restroom, a millennial’s vacation wouldn’t be the same without a bit of digital help.

Technological transformation is changing the rules of the game in many industries. The world of food – and new consumption habits – have not escaped the innovation of the startups: intelligent kitchens, robot chefs, home deliveries in tupperware, food orders with no minimum amount, artificial intelligence to calculate calories… it´s time for foodtech.

Josep Roca, the middle brother of the owners of El Celler de Can Roca, acclaimed as the best restaurant in the world in 2013 and 2015, arrived in China today with part of his team to take part in a series of commemorative events marking the first anniversary of BBVA opening its first office in the country. At a press conference following his arrival in Beijing, Josep Roca said: “Last year we cooked in Hong Kong and this year we are going to Beijing and Shanghai to pay homage to an age-old gastronomy that has taught us so much. We have great respect and admiration for this country’s cuisine and that’s why we would like to offer it our humble tribute.”

El Celler de Can Roca remains on the podium of the prestigious ranking published by British magazine Restaurant. Joan and Jordi Roca celebrated the award in Melbourne, where the The World’s 50 Best 2017 award ceremony was held. This acknowledgement comes a few weeks before the Roca brothers embark on the BBVA Tour across Spain, to pay homage to the country’s different regional cuisines.

The apps world continues to grow. In just a few years, apps have become smartphone users’ closest ally. They aren’t all as well-known as Instagram and Shazam, but they have the same potential.

Well before the football was kicked off into a sea of flashing lights from smartphone cameras, signaling the start of perhaps the most exciting professional football championship game in history, BBVA Compass had a game plan to showcase the city that hosted it.

BBVA brand ambassador and world-renowned chef Joan Roca’s culinary creativity took Houston by storm last week – like a well-oiled football team takes over its opponent.

From recipes for some of their famous dishes to cooking tips and numerous stories and anecdotes about El Celler de Can Roca and its tours with BBVA around the world. These are just some of the things you can find in these books on the Roca brothers, which show us how their art and mastery go far beyond the kitchen at El Celler.

‘The Turkish Way’, produced by BBVA, premiered in the culinary section of the San Sebastian Film Festival. The documentary captures the experience of the Roca brothers during their trip to Turkey in 2015, bearing witness to how the top chefs in the country are starting an interesting gastronomic movement. “Being there was wonderful, meeting top chefs and seeing them gather and come together in a manifesto aimed at boosting the relevance of their cuisine,” said Joan Roca, chef of El Celler de Can Roca, during the presentation of the film.

The 2016 BBVA – El Celler de Can Roca Tour 2016 ended with great success, after traveling around the world in 35 days. Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca, together with the entire El Celler de Can Roca team, went to London, Hong Kong, Phoenix, San Francisco and Santiago de Chile over the past five weeks. In each city, they paid tribute to the country’s cuisine, reinterpreting popular dishes and creating new ones inspired in the tour’s previous travels. Joan Roca, the head chef; Josep Roca, maitre d’ and sommelier; and Jordi Roca, pastry chef, have served nearly 40,000 dishes for 1,900 BBVA customers and guests.

The Turkish Way, the second movie by the Roca brothers and BBVA, will be premiered on Monday 19 September at the 6th edition of the culinary section of the San Sebastian Film Festival. This second installment  follows Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca during their trip to Turkey before the 2015 BBVA Tour, which over a period of 5 weeks visited several countries to pay tribute to their cuisine. The owners of El Celler de Can Roca discovered the history and gastronomic potential of Turkey through young chefs, sommeliers and local producers.    

You can’t reach the top without effort, hard work, and passion. And these are precisely the values that have been championed by the team at El Celler de Can Roca for the last 30 years. Ever since Joan and Josep Roca opened their own restaurant alongside their parents’ eatery in August 1986, they have not ceased in their pursuit of excellence and their total commitment to what they do: delivering a unique experience to everyone who takes a seat at one of their tables.

The Valley of the Sun got even brighter last week as the world-renowned Roca brothers trekked into Phoenix as part of the 2016 BBVA-El Celler de Can Roca Tour.

The BBVA-El Celler de Can Roca tour has touched down for the first time in Asia, with a week of events in Hong Kong. Wine-tasting, cooking and pastry-making masterclasses and a series of dinners in the Hotel Peninsula in this international setting have once again served to enhance the reputation of Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca.

The end of the first leg of El Celler de Can Roca’s world tour was marked by the standing ovation from the almost 400 BBVA clients that had been invited to enjoy a special menu that paid homage to the British capital’s cosmopolitan spirit.

The Roca brothers of Spain’s celebrated El Celler de Can Roca are headed to the lands of blazing sun and foggy mornings, bringing their brand of culinary genius to BBVA Compass clients in two western U.S. cities this summer on their BBVA-sponsored global tour, which started on August 1 in London.

Having closed its doors at the end of July to take off on the BBVA World Tour, El Celler de Can Roca re-opened in the demonstration theatre of Westminster Kingsway College (WKC) for one morning only, giving a selected audience of 40 guests a ‘Masterclass’ – a  sneak preview of the cuisine that will be served this week on the London leg of the tour.

El Celler de Can Roca has announced a partnership with the prestigious Westminster Kingsway College catering school to help with its forthcoming pop-up at London’s Café Royal.

Chile has changed. It grew up, matured. It’s no longer that barely autonomous young boy who looked around, borrowing others’ techniques and input. It has even evolved from that adolescent with too much talent but poor judgment.

Almost everything is ready for  El Celler de Can Roca’s historic visit to Chile, which will take place in just a bit over a month, from August 28th through September 4th. The Roca brothers are working on the final details of the menu they will offer during the dinners served at the nation’s capital.

The fact that a long and narrow country like Chile – where going from one end to the other is an adventure in itself – dares to explore beyond the established limits, moving its border to the north and the south in order to reveal new terroirs with new climates, land and winemaking methods speaks to a country of renewed youth where diversity is the name of the game.

Summer is finally here! While many of us may picture ourselves jetting off to a tropical island to do nothing but enjoy cocktails while bathing in a secluded beach…  the truth is that, unfortunately, due to a lack of money and time, some of us will have to save our dreams for later and spend the summer in the city. But, hey, it’s ok! There are thousands plans waiting for you – low-cost, even for free – and you probably didn’t know anything about them.