Best Female Chef 2012

The Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef award celebrates the work of an exceptional female chef whose cooking excites the toughest of critics. The award is inspired by the life and achievements of Madame Clicquot, who nearly 200 years ago, set the standard for women in business. The winner reflects Madame Clicquot’s attributes of innovation, creativity and determination.

Elena Arzak, best female chef 2012

Elena is the fourth generation of the Arzak family to head up the restaurant since it opened in 1897. In the past five years, the restaurant has consistently ranked within the top 10 of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and was the first Basque restaurant to be awarded three Michelin stars. A highly decorated family, Elena’s father Juan Mari Arzak was honoured with the esteemed Lifetime Achievement Award at last year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony.

Having learnt her craft at home, Elena expanded her horizons through extensive travel. She studied in Lucerne, Switzerland before moving through the great kitchens of Europe including Maison Troisgros, Bras and Pierre Gagnaire in France, Le Gavroche in London and El Bulli in Spain before returning to the family business.

Elena has won international respect for her constantly evolving, cutting edge, research-based approach to cooking and experimentation with flavours. Through her single-minded dedication to Arzak and its signature Basque cuisine, Elena oversees not only a thriving restaurant but by working in tandem with her famous father, Juan Mari, has ensured that it is recognised as one of the most influential restaurants in the world today.

Extravagant hotel designed by Swiss architects...location? anywhere!

Hotel Everland is a project by the Swiss architects Sabina Lang & Daniel Baumann. It stands for a few "capsule" hotels located in spectacular places around the world.  

Everland is a Hotel with only one room including a bathroom, a king-size bed and a lounge. The bounteous dimensioned room represents the subjective dream of a hotel: the architecture, the playful details, as well as the request to steal the golden embroidered bath towels. All Everland guests are partaking in the project. Also the concept for operating the hotel was defined by the artists. All facets are important constituents of the artistic idea: The room can be booked for one night only, the mini-bar is fully stocked and included in the price, breakfast is delivered to the door and a record collection stands at ones disposal.

Hotel Everland was first developed on invitation of the Curator Gianni Jetzer for the Exhibition concept "Everland" at the Swiss national exhibition in the year 2002. The Hotel was planned by L/B and built in Burgdorf. Following it was transported to Yverdon where it was located on the lake of Neuchatel for 4 month. After the end of Expo.02 the mobile pavilion was brought to Burgdorf and was placed on the factory roof at L/B's studio.

From June 2006 until September 2007 the one room hotel was exhibited and run as a Hotel on the roof-deck of the Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig, Germany. Like in Yverdon, visitors could take a peek at the Hotel during the opening hours of the museum, after closing hours at 18.00 it was reserved for the guests.

As a last destination Hotel Everland moved to Paris from October 2007 until spring 2009. High above the city, with a view on the Eiffel Tower, it was installed on the roof of Palais de Tokyo. It was also possible to book the room for the night or visit it during the day. After Paris, Hotel Everland travelled back to Switzerland and is not run as Hotel since. There are no additional destinations planned.