The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered our habits. Bars, restaurants, and entertainment spots have temporarily closed down and are being forced to consider how they might have to restructure in response to a new, post-pandemic world. “Seeing an empty restaurant is a bit sad: such a vital space, normally with so much energy and young people from all over the world working, but we want to be optimistic,” says chef Joan Roca, owner of El Celler de Can Roca, one of Spain’s most celebrated gastronomic venues. The hospitality industry is facing a considerable challenge, and insight from industry leaders like the Roca brothers can shed some light on what we might expect from restaurants in a post-COVID-19 reality.

One month before confining at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, chef Jordi Roca opened the doors to the latest proposal to come out of the Roca brothers’ world. Casa Cacao is one of their most personal projects to date, one that’s inspired by the pastry chef’s passion for chocolate. A boutique hotel that houses a chocolate workshop, right in the heart of Girona. Obviously, the hotel’s debut was tarnished by the events that unfolded soon afterwards. The youngest Roca brother is taking this isolation time to ponder about the problems that was the catering and hospitality industry will be facing after things go back to normal.

Andrew Wong is the winner of the third edition of the scholarship offered by BBVA in collaboration with The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The promising youth from the U.S. was selected among culinary students from around the world. He will complete his training at three restaurants led by chefs Mauro Colagreco, Luke Dale-Roberts and Leonor Espinosa.

BBVA and the Roca brothers have announced a three-year extension of their collaboration agreement to develop joint projects. With this extension, both organizations signify their intent to continue building on the set of shared values that has inspired their successful partnership, and to take on new projects, with innovation and sustainability as fundamental pillars.

The climate summit in Madrid kicks off with a reception for world leaders who, over the course of the next few days, will discuss the environmental challenges confronting the planet. BBVA sponsors the inaugural lunch with a sustainable menu designed by the brothers of El Celler de Can Roca. The chefs from Spain’s northeastern city of Girona have created a culinary overture to invite reflection on some of the most relevant topics to be addressed at the summit.

The Roca brothers of El Celler de Can Roca fame have created the dishes that will be served to prime ministers, heads of state, government officials, and the United Nations’ Secretary-General at the opening lunch of the next Climate Summit. The summit gets underway next Monday, December 2, in Madrid. The meal, sponsored by BBVA with a menu prepared by the Roca brothers, is based on local Spanish products and a cuisine that is amenable to small-scale farmers. “Cuisine is a transformative tool that can raise awareness and advocate for sustainability,” Joan Roca stated.

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 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.

The 50 Best Scholarship program, in collaboration with BBVA, was presented the 2018 Gourmet Excellence Award as part of the Madrid International Tourism Fair (FITUR). These awards seek to foster the highest quality in different sectors related to tourism and culture – in this case with gastronomy.

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.

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.

What happens when you choose a restaurant on the Internet? Or when you want to buy a book? Or find a song? Or get hooked on a new series?  BBVA Data & Analytics in a new item for dissemination explains how the different recommendation systems used by Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify work and how they will extend beyond the consumer and entertainment sectors.

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.

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.

On Tuesday, Jan. 31, BBVA Compass and national television personality and lifestyle expert Sandra Lee invited guests to celebrate the bank’s “51 Ways to #LiveBright in Houston” at the “BBVA Compass Big Game Headquarters” located at 5201 Green Tree Road in Tanglewood. The guest list for the cocktail reception included the people, places, and things affiliated with the “51 Ways” list along with local influencers.

Every day at BBVA, more than 136,000 professionals do their best to meet the needs of 67 million customers. Most people only know about the experts in finance, law, personnel and facility management, and technology, but there are many other employees who quietly make important contributions. For instance: Rodolfo Vargas, a waiter at BBVA Bancomer—Mexico, who on many occasions has an impact on customers’ opinion of the bank.

‘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.

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.

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.

This August, the Roca brothers, Spanish culinary heroes and owners of Girona’s legendary El Celler de Can Roca restaurant, will be coming to London for an exclusive pop-up at the iconic Hotel Café Royal as part of the BBVA World Tour

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants gala held last night in New York held yet another surprise for the most famous family in the global culinary scene. Joan Roca –the restaurant’s ‘boss’, just as his two brothers acknowledged – received the Chef’s Choice Award, based on the votes by the other chefs from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

El Celler de Can Roca, which has been ranked in the top-5 since 2009, scooped the second position, for the forth time in its history. Joan Roca’s work has been recognized by chefs, who have awarded him with the Chef’s Choice Award.

Traditional dishes are hidden away in thousands of households, where families jealously guard the recipes passed down from their ancestors. Often as a result of innovation, of trial and error, an amateur cook comes up with a dish to be proud of, or alternatively an example not to follow.

Cooking Up a Tribute, produced by BBVA Contenidos, was subject to tribute at the Spanish embassy in Japan after winning the best documentary award at the Latin Beat Film Festival in Tokyo. The feature film was introduced by Josep Roca, Sommelier at El Celler de Can Roca and the middle brother of the three owners of the world’s best restaurant, who was joined by Gonzalo de Benito, Spanish Ambassador to Japan.

The 2015 BBVA-El Celler de Can Roca tour has successfully completed this second edition as the world gastronomic event of the year. Joan Roca, the chef responsible for savory dishes, Josep Roca, the maitre d’ and sommelier, and Jordi Roca, the pastry chef, have prepared a total of 30,000 dishes for 1,600 BBVA customers and guests. The Roca brothers, the owners of El Celler de Can Roca, chosen as best restaurant in the world in 2015, have prepared specialties as a tribute to the gastronomy and local culture of each country they visited: the United States, Argentina and Turkey.