Ricard Camarena is the first illycaffè Spanish Chef Ambassador

The respect for the land and sustainability joins forces in the name of quality and flavor

VALENCIA, Spain, June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 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

Ricard Camarena
The Spanish chef Ricard Camarena creates a cuisine marked by local products from the Mediterranean Sea that come from the fishmongers near Valencia and from the green grocers of nearby farmers who grow vegetables, exclusively for him and his five restaurants. His food approach is characterised by taste and seasonal food, with so much respect for the product. Camarena has been able to innovate and develop with innovative techniques, taking advantage of all the ingredients to create new dishes, cocktails, drinks and sauces. Zero waste is in his DNA and he applies it in all his restaurants. The Valencian chef Ricard Camarena has two Michelin Stars, a Green Star for Sustainability and three Repsol Suns for 'Ricard Camarena Restaurant'. It also ranks 96th on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list and is considered the eighth best vegetable restaurant in the world by the Smart Green Guide. Ricard Camarena Restaurant is a gastronomic space that opened its doors in June 2017 in the 'Bombas Gens Center d'Art' and runs other venues such as the Canalla Bistro (with eclectic cuisine in the Ruzafa neighborhood); the Central Bar of the Central Market of Valencia, the HABITUAL (with a gastronomic vision of the entire Mediterranean in the Mercado de Colón) and BAR X, also in the Mercado de Colón where it updates traditional Valencian flavours.

illycaffè is an Italian family-owned company, founded in Trieste in 1933 which has always set itself the mission of offering the best coffee to the world. It produces a unique 100% Arabica blend composed of 9 different ingredients. The company selects only 1% of the best Arabica beans in the world. Every day 8 million cups of illy coffee are served in over 140 countries around the globe, in the cafés, restaurants and hotels, in single-brand cafés and shops, at home and in the office, in which the company is present through subsidiaries and distributors. Since its foundation, illycaffè has oriented its strategies towards a sustainable business model, commitment that it strengthened in 2019 by adopting the status of Benefit Company and in 2021 becoming the first Italian coffee company to obtain the international B Corp certification. Since 2013 the company is also one of the World Most Ethical Companies. Everything that is "made in illy" is about beauty and art, the founding principles of the brand, starting from its logo, designed by artist James Rosenquist, up to illy Art Collection cups, decorated by over 125 international artists, or coffee machines designed by internationally renowned designers. With the aim of spreading the culture of quality to growers, baristas and coffee lovers, the company has developed its Università del Caffè which today holds courses in 25 countries around the world. In 2021, Rhône Capital became a minority shareholder of illycaffè with the aim of contributing to the company's international growth plans. In 2022, the company had 1230 employees and a turnover of €567,7 million. The illy single-brand network has 190 points of sale in 34 countries.

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SOURCE illycaffè