Innovation and creativity in gastronomy beyond Haute Cuisine restaurants: Towards an innovation ecosystem in Gastronomytech in the Basque Country

Abstract

The new avant‐garde of innovation in the field of gastronomy is moving from Haute Cuisine restaurants to laboratories, research centres, hubs or ecosystems fully dedicated to culinary innovation, where mixed and multidisciplinary teams of cooks and scientist work together. Such agents are leading an expansion of the field of influence of culinary innovation, connecting culinary knowledge with sectors such as agri‐food, hospitality, tourism, health or biotechnology. And, in turn, they seek to expand the frontiers of culinary innovation by exploring the connection of gastronomy with new digital technologies, promoting gastronomic entrepreneurship or developing policies to boost advanced gastronomic ecosystems around the world. The article analyses this process through the case study of the emergence of an innovation ecosystem in Gastronomytech in the Basque Country (Spain) led by the agents BCC Innovation, LABe Digital Gastronomy Lab and GOe Gastronomy Open Ecosystem, all three managed by Basque Culinary Center (an organization where training, innovation, research and entrepreneurship coexist with the aim of developing and promoting gastronomy). The study has implications for the management of culinary creativity and innovation, both for chefs and innovation teams at restaurants, as well as for policy‐makers who aim to promote innovative gastronomy in the future.