VALENCIA, Spain – Ricard Camarena and illycaffè, the global leader in high-quality sustainable coffee, announce the addition of the two Michelin-starred and Green-starred chef, who this year has entered for the first time the list of the 100 best restaurants in the world, to the roster of the illy Chef Ambassador project, the initiative dedicated to lovers of coffee and fine dining for which Camarena will become the first Spanish ambassador of the brand.
Thanks to the invention of the Personal Blender (the machine patented by illy whose prototype was introduced at the 2015 Milan Exposition’s Coffee Pavilion) and the support of the University of Coffee, Chef Camarena will have the opportunity to combine the ingredients that make up the illy blend – 9 of the best single-origin Arabica variety – to create his own personal brew, a unique blend that reflects illy’s values of sustainability and the utmost quality. Each one of the Michelin-starred chefs involved in the project will create their own “custom-made” coffee.
Following in the footsteps of Niko Romito, Viki Geunes, Antonia Klugmann, Ciccio Sultano, Rupert Blease, Massimo Bottura, Andrea Berton and other leading lights of international fine dining, Ricard Camarena will take his turn at combining these ingredients in different quantities and proportions, achieving a balance that best reflects his own style and personal sensorial, taste, and aroma preferences.
If every great Chef has a great menu, thanks to illy they also now have their own bespoke coffee best adapted to their personal style of cooking: the final product will be made available as a unique experience closing out the tasting menu of his five restaurants in Valencia – Ricard Camarena Restaurant, Canalla Bistro, Central Bar, BAR X y HABITUAL.
Sustainability and premium quality unites Ricard Camarena’s cuisine and illycaffè. These values are part of the DNA of the Trieste-based coffee company, whose mission of delighting lovers of the good and the beautiful with the best sustainable coffee nature can offer begins with a deep knowledge and respect for raw materials.
“We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Ricard Camarena, a Spanish chef committed to its land and raw materials, and with whom we share a constant search for perfection” commented Cristina Scocchia, CEO of illycaffè. “This partnership is born out of our shared values of excellence, which we aim to offer to our customers, both when they are enjoying a great coffee and when they sit down at the table, for a flawless experience that strives for absolute quality”.
“We signed this collaboration with illycaffè because we share values such as the constant search for sustainability, good relationship with our suppliers and excellence in the raw materials we use. I am very excited by the fact that I can customize my own coffee blend, since I like to participate in projects from the beginning. We have always given great importance to coffee in our restaurants and we want it to become the ideal complement to our cuisine. I am honoured to start this important collaboration with illycaffè” says Chef Ricard Camarena.
The illy Chef Ambassador project, launched in 2017, aims to involve fine dining professionals with whom illycaffè shares the values of sustainability and the utmost quality: sustainable chefs, awarded with the Green Star by the Michelin Guide, and illy’s Masters of Excellence, the great Michelin-starred chefs.
For more information on the illy Chef Ambassador project, see: https://www.illy.com/chefambassador
