Ferran Adriá

Europe's highest-endowed designer award goes to the star chef from Barcelona.

The jury of the Raymond Loewy Foundation has presented this year's Lucky Strike Designer Award, which carries prize money of 50,000 euros, to the Spaniard Ferran Adriá. This is the first time the award has paid tribute to the design achievements of a chef.

At a festive ceremony, MC Roger M. Buergel, the director of the art fair documenta12, awarded the prize to the Spanish chef. More than 500 guests came to Berlin's Komische Oper last night to honour Ferran Adriá. Among them were Alfred Biolek, who also gave the guest speech, Ralf Zacherl, Rainer Sass, Gabriele Strehle, Cornelia Pieper (FDP) and the Spanish ambassador, Gabriel Busquets Aparicio. Prof. Johann Tomforde, chairman of the jury of the Raymond Loewy Foundation, explained the jury's decision as follows: "With his integrated concept, Ferran Adriá lends food an unprecedented sensuous and aesthetic dimension".

Master of ceremonies Roger M. Buergel described Adriá as an "Enlightenment figure", who explores these new dimensions motivated by an absolute interest in learning.

Ferran Adriá was visibly moved as he accepted the award. He sees his culinary philosophy acknowledged with this recognition of cooking as design and thus of the cultural status of fine cuisine. Adriá declared that the presentation of the award represents an important moment in the history of cooking, emphasizing that he was not just accepting the prize for himself, but for "all chefs" who follows their passion to "evolve new techniques to create a new and different world". The aim of a chef's work, he said, should be to make people happy through the multi-sensory experience of eating.