Toni Massanés

Director – Alícia Foundation
Coordinator – Dreams stage at Madrid Fusión

Since its foundation in 2003, he has been the General Director of Alícia Foundation, the laboratory of responsible food, the first centre in the world dedicated to research and innovation in cooking with scientific rigour to help everyone to eat better (healthier, more sustainable, tastier). From its laboratory in Món Sant Benet, Alícia has developed tools and culinary strategies to prevent, educate, and support the treatment of ten different diseases, always in collaboration with hospitals or reference centres and the affected individuals. Alícia also works to add value to the work of farmers, gastronomy, and the biodiversity of territories, to help innovate SMEs or small agricultural producers, and with the industry that wants to produce better foods (Alícia has been recognized with the Special Prize of the Academy of the National Gastronomy Awards of the ACGN, PAAS awards, NAOS, Tàstum, the National Healthy Gastronomy Award of the Royal Spanish Academy of Gastronomy, the National Research Award of the Catalan Foundation for Research, the Alimara, and the Culture of Oil awards, among others).

Graduate in cooking in Barcelona and Toulouse, but transdisciplinary by training and vocation, he has mainly dedicated himself to teaching, writing, communication, and research. A researcher at the Food Observatory of the University of Barcelona (ODELA), he has travelled with local chefs – both professionals and home cooks – to learn about culinary traditions from around the world. Besides conducting studies and recipe books, he justified, designed the method, and led the research team responsible for inventorying and cataloguing the Traditional Catalan Culinary Corpus. He has also written, co-written, directed, or participated in dozens of books, works, websites, and guides on products, restaurants, food culture, historical, traditional, and haute cuisine such as Libertad en los fogones, Cocina en su tinta of the National Library of Spain, as La Cuina del Berguedà, Evolució i Receptari or Com a La Llosa res. The food transformations in Pallars Sobirà and Alt Urgell or Virgin Olive Oil and culinary creativity in The Olive Oils of Catalonia or Haute Cuisine in Como Vivíamos. Alimentos y Alimentación in 20th Century Spain, or Tot el que cal saber sobre la Cultura Catalana, etc. He wrote the entry Cuisine for the Dictionnaire des cultures alimentaires directed by J.P. Poulain of the Presses Universitaires of France and was the scientific director of the Encyclopedia La Nostra Cuina. He has curated several exhibitions on cuisine, food culture, and sustainability such as Bcn-Cat Real Food for real people at the Expo in Città in Milan or El Celler de Can Roca, From the Earth to the Moon at Palau Robert in Barcelona. He has advised and participated in TV programs, series, and documentary films such as Collita Pròpia, Sota terra, Planta Baixa, Al vostre gust, 30 minuts, Encontro dos Sabores no Rio Negro, or Snacks, bites of a revolution, among others. Likewise, he writes for La Vanguardia’s Comer and Cuina magazine. Previously, he collaborated on gastronomy and food issues for newspapers and magazines such as Regió7, Què fem? Altaïr, el 9 Nou, el Mundo de los Pirineos, Time Out, 7caníbales… He reflects on the current challenges of food on Un restaurant Caníbal a Berlín on Catalunya Ràdio. He previously took care of the gastronomic section of different radio programs like La Solució on Catalunya Ràdio or L’hora del Pati on RAC. 1. He has presided over the jury of Écotrophélia Spain, organized by FIAB, promoting sustainable innovation at universities concerning the agri-food industry. He has taught classes, conferences, or talks in Spain, USA, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Portugal, Brazil, Korea, Thailand, France, or Italy. Furthermore, he has been a presenter for the world’s top chefs at dozens of editions of Spain’s top gastronomy congresses (Fòrum Gastronòmic, San Sebastián Gastronomika, Madrid Fusión, Alimentaria Experience…) and in forums on health, food, and science, as well as participating in lectures and round tables.

Currently, besides being an IGCAT Expert, he coordinates the Dreams stage at Madrid Fusión. He designed, organized, and presented the 2002 Dialogues of Science and Cuisine at the Science Museum of Barcelona, where for the first time, Spain’s top chefs systematically gathered around a theme with prominent international scientists from various disciplines. He has been part of the scientific committee of the International Congress on Gastronomy and Health in Zaragoza. Besides, he curated the food section of the two editions of the Biennial Science and City of Barcelona. An advisor for the Barcelona Year of Gastronomy 2005-2006, he is the author of the book/catalogue Tasting Barcelona. He is a member of the Advisory Council for City Promotion of Barcelona, the Food and Gastronomy Campus of the University of Girona, and the Faros Portal of Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, among others. He participated in the development of the Strategic Plan for Municipal Markets of Barcelona, collaborated in drafting the report Eating Future (For a productive, sustainable, resilient, healthy, responsible, and universally accessible food system in Catalonia) of the Advisory Council for Sustainable Development, and in the Strategic Food Plan of Catalonia (PEAC) 2021-2026. He also collaborated in drafting the Law against Food Waste of the Parliament of Catalonia. Responsible for and a speaker in the field of gastronomy and food at Barcelona React 2021 and participated in the development of the Strategic Food Plan of Catalonia and the Food Strategy of Spain. Individually, he has also received the Juan Mari Arzak Gastronomy and Media Award, the Ignasi Domènech Award, the Berguedans al món award, the Gastronomic Merit Medal of Nadal Gastronomy Awards, and the Barcelona City Gastronomy Award 2016, among others. In September 2020, he was chosen as one of the 35 best gastronomic communicators in Spain.