Andoni Luis Aduriz becomes the first chef to receive the Círculo de Bellas Artes Gold Medal

Basque chef Andoni Luis Aduriz, head of Mugaritz, received the Círculo de Bellas Artes Gold Medal on 8 October 2026, becoming the first chef in the institution’s history to receive its highest distinction.

The award recognises a career that has helped position gastronomy beyond the kitchen as a place of enjoyment, turning it also into a space for creation, reflection, culture and contemporary thought. The Círculo de Bellas Artes has highlighted both his contribution to avant-garde cuisine and his intellectual, educational and humanistic work.

The ceremony was held in the Hall of Columns at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid and was followed by a conversation between Aduriz and Juan Ángel Vela del Campo, a member of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy and a cultural commentator.

Aduriz has developed much of his career at Mugaritz, in Errenteria, a restaurant that has become a laboratory for gastronomic ideas and a meeting point between cuisine, science, art and culture.

The distinction places a chef, for the first time, among the personalities awarded the Círculo de Bellas Artes Gold Medal, traditionally associated with creators, artists, thinkers and intellectuals.