Munich. The international world of haute cuisine
gathered at BMW Group Classic in Munich last Tuesday for a special
occasion: “Chef of the century” Eckart Witzigmann presented the ECKART
2016 named after him to Dominique Crenn, Andreas Caminada, Sebastian
Copeland and the Munich Viktualienmarkt. An honorary award was also
received by Julia and Tobias Moretti. In just over ten years, the
International Eckart Witzigmann Award, ECKART for short, has
established itself as one of the highest accolades for outstanding
achievements in the art of cookery and fine dining. This was the fifth
year the award has been presented in conjunction with the BMW Group.
For the first time, the ECKART was presented at the new BMW Group
Classic. The roughly 13,000-square-metre property located at Moosacher
Strasse 66 is also home to one of the young company’s very first
production halls. In its centenary year, the BMW Group chose to return
to its historic roots. As Maximilian Schöberl, head of BMW Group
Corporate and Governmental Affairs, underlined in his welcoming
remarks, it provides “a worthy setting for celebrating 75 years of
Eckart Witzigmann and the 100th anniversary of the BMW Group”.
Schöberl hosted the evening together with presenter Verena Wriedt.
The collaboration between the BMW Group and the Witzigmann Academy
creates a platform for responsibility in the restaurant trade. Dr.
Friedrich Eichiner, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG,
responsible for Finance, and patron of the event, emphasised the
importance of the ECKART: “With Eckart Witzigmann and the Witzigmann
Academy, we have succeeded in providing fresh impetus. Today, the
ECKART is one of the most prestigious awards in the culinary world.
Sustainable haute cuisine, responsible handling of food products and
exceptional commitment to promoting young talent – that is what the
name Eckart Witzigmann stands for.” He continued: “We have shown that
‘Sheer Driving Pleasure’ and culinary pleasure go well together. We
appeal to people who seek and value what is special – and we both
define ‘premium’ primarily through responsibility and sustainability.”
The evening was also a very special occasion for Eckart Witzigmann:
“It is important that we actively shape change in our society. The
focus has returned to authenticity and originality, with the product
the star. Those who serve this aim should be commended. I would also
like to thank the BMW Group for making this evening possible.”
The BMW Group also benefits from the collaboration with Eckart
Witzigmann. A good example of this is “NAHtürlich”, the BMW Group’s
catering pilot project, which brings innovative, regional and seasonal
dishes to the menu for BMW Group employees. Specifically, since early
June, BMW Group staff at the Research and Innovation Centre in Munich
have had access to a food station that only serves meals made from
in-season, regional products, animal-welfare-friendly production and
sustainable fisheries. “We want to empower our employees to have an
active and positive impact on their nutrition. That is part of our
corporate responsibility,” explained Milagros Caiña-Andree, member of
the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Human Resources,
during the award ceremony.
The subsequent gala dinner in honour of the award winners offered a
new interpretation of Eckart Witzigmann’s classic dishes under the
direction of Martin Fauster, chef de cuisine at the Hotel Königshof in Munich.
ECKART 2016 award winners
ECKART 2016 for the Art of Cookery: Andreas Caminada,
Fürstenau, Switzerland.
At 33 years of age, Andreas Caminada became Switzerland’s youngest
three-star chef and has maintained this high standard at his
restaurant at Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau since 2010. The top
chef from the canton of Graubünden focuses on the original flavour of
seasonal alpine products. Unexpected combinations and methods of
presentation ultimately unite all elements to form a culinary whole.
“Cooking is a skill anyone can learn,” believes Caminada. Since 2016,
his foundation “Fundaziun Uccelin” (Romansh for “little bird”) has
nurtured individual chef and service talents from home and abroad with
the aim of guaranteeing high-quality Swiss cuisine over the long term.
Eckart Witzigmann paid tribute to the three-star chef: “The future is
rooted in the past – and the future of gastronomy will depend to a
large extent on young talents. This is an area that has been neglected
in the past – which makes Andreas Caminda’s courageous commitment to
the next generation all the more important.”
ECKART 2016 for Innovation: Dominique Crenn, San Francisco, USA
Dominique Crenn combines creativity with tremendous culinary
craftsmanship and an inner love of precision. She firmly believes that
food can move people in the same way as a poem, a song or a painting.
The menu proposed by French-born Crenn is a poem in itself, with
individual dishes barely hinted at with names such as “Walking deep in
the woods”, “The rawness of those soft, swimming creatures” or “As the
earth might have something to spare”.
In 2012, Crenn became the first female chef in the United States to
earn two Michelin stars for her “Atelier Crenn”. In 2016, she was
named the “world’s best female chef” in “The World’s 50 Best
Restaurants” list.
Eckart Witzigmann is a huge admirer of her work and Crenn expressed
her thanks “for the tremendous inspiration and passion for haute
cuisine that I was able to share with Eckart Witzigmann.”
ECKART 2016 for Art of Living: the Munich Viktualienmarkt
With around 112 sellers of top-quality food items, delicacies and
flowers, the Munich Viktualienmarkt is a flagship for the city. Around
30 retailers also import a broad range of exotic delicacies to the
Bavarian capital. Eckart Witzigmann: “The Viktualienmarkt has always
been a source of inspiration for me – a place where you find time for
a lively conversation. Top-quality products form the basis for good
food – and that is what you find above all else at the Viktualienmarkt.”
Representing the market as a whole were Elke Fett, from the
dried-flower stand “Duftschmankerl”, Manuela Wilkerson, from
“Teltschik’s sausage stand”, and Marina Bröckelt, from the
delicatessen “Marina’s Feinkost”. Fett: “We are delighted that
international cuisine at the highest level is committed to regional
and local products. We are proud of the work we do and where we are from.”
ECKART 2016 for Creative Responsibility and Enjoyment (endowed
by the BMW Group with 10,000 euros): Sebastian Copeland, Los
Angeles, USA
Sebastian Copeland is a polar explorer, environmental activist,
adventurer and award-winning photographer. He has addressed the United
Nations and World Affairs Council and released books and films
explicitly warning against the impact of climate change – in the Polar
regions and around the world.
Following his crossing of the Simpson Desert in Australia in August
2016, Copeland will embark on the second phase of his expedition in
February 2017 – traveling from the Canadian mainland to the North Pole
across the ice on skis. In an emotional speech, Copeland explained
that this will probably be the last opportunity to do so, since the
Arctic icecap has shrunk by more than half over the past 30 years,
making future crossings impossible.
“My camera allows me to show people the beauty of our planet – and
its fragility. If people can fall in love with our world all over
again, it is easier to persuade them to preserve it. It is important
to provide a forum for changing how we treat our environment. With
this award, Eckart Witzigmann and the BMW Group are part of that
change,” said Sebastian Copeland in thanks.
HONORARY AWARD 75 years Eckart Witzigmann: Julia and Tobias
Moretti, Ranggen, Austria
Actor Tobias Morretti and his wife, Julia, lead a secluded life on a
400-year-old mountain farm on 35 hectares in Tyrol. The “Omesberg” in
Ranggen lies south of Innsbruck at an altitude of eight hundred
metres. The couple is actively involved in regional value creation,
striving for a long-term increase in general quality awareness and to
preserve biodiversity through traditional breeds. For example, the
Morettis raise Tyrol’s oldest breed of cattle, the “Tux-Zillertaler”.
Eckart Witzimann praised the couple in his speech: “The Morettis run
their farm the way it should be. That is sustainability in its best
possible form.”
“This award is a great honour for us – but, most of all, it is a call
for us to continue in the same direction,” said Julia Moretti in her
thank-you speech. Her husband Tobias Moretti firmly believes there is
a future for alpine agriculture: “We were frustrated that even though
originality and authenticity have become buzzwords for modern society,
it has not been possible to live from that kind of agriculture until
now. We wanted to come up with an alternative concept: I think we succeeded.”
ECKART, Witzigmann Academy and the BMW Group
The International Eckart Witzigmann Award is one of the most
prestigious honours recognising outstanding achievements in the art of
cooking and fine dining. “Chef of the century” Eckart Witzigmann has
awarded the ECKART for unique culinary achievements and special
commitment under the broad spectrum of lifestyle since 2004. In
partnership with the BMW Group, the Witzigmann Academy presents awards
annually in three categories: “Art of Cookery”, “Innovation” and “Art
of Living”. The Academy presented its first ECKART for “Creative
Responsibility and Enjoyment” in 2013, with a cash award of 10,000
euros endowed by the BMW Group.
Previous ECKART winners include Daniel Boulud (New York City); HRH
Charles, Prince of Wales (Highgrove); Elena Arzak (San Sebastian);
Anne-Sophie Pic (Valence); Harald Wohlfahrt (Tonbach); Dieter Kosslick
(Berlin); Ferran Adrià (Barcelona); Marc Haeberlin (Illhaeusern); Joël
Robuchon (Paris); Alex Atala (Sao Paulo); Jon Rose (Los Angeles); Mick
Hucknall (Manchester); Claus Meyer (Copenhagen) and many more.
A symposium on a specific gastronomic topic is also held annually.
Sustainability has been an integral part of the BMW Group’s corporate
strategy for many years, with sustainable development firmly
established as a corporate target at Group level: from the development
of alternative, fuel-saving vehicle concepts through
environmentally-compatible production processes to eco-friendly
recycling methods. At the BMW Group, sustainable thinking and action
influences not only the product, but the entire value chain. In all
areas of the company, the focus is on meaningful and responsible use
of energy and raw materials.
If you have any questions, please contact:
BMW Group Corporate Communications
Julian Hetzenecker, BMW Group Business and Financial Communications
Tel.: +49-89-382-39229
Email: julian.hetzenecker@bmw.de
Email: presse@bmw.de
Media website: www.press.bmw.de
Press contact Witzigmann Academy Otto Geisel
Lachner-Straße 18
80639 München
Telephone: +49 89 139 260 26
office@ottogeisel.de
Further information on the Eckart Witzigmann Award can be
found at:
www.eckart-witzigmann-preis.de
The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the
world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles
and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global
company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities
in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2015, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.247 million cars and
nearly 137,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the
financial year 2015 was approximately € 9.22 billion on revenues
amounting to € 92.18 billion. As of 31 December 2015, the BMW Group
had a workforce of 122,244 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
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