Scientists and chefs from five continents to converge on Lanzarote at the second Worldcanic congress

Scientists and chefs from Europe, Asia, America, Africa and Oceania will be at the second Worldcanic congress from 19 to 21 October in Lanzarote. This is the only congress in the world combining vulcanology, agriculture and volcanic cuisine from all over the planet, to share experience and knowledge in an attempt to build more prosperous healthy societies and guarantee a sustainable future for the generations ahead. The congress, which will be visiting a number of locations on the Canary Island over three days, will feature representatives of countries with major volcanic traditions, such as New Zealand, Indonesia, Ecuador, Iceland, France, the United States, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Multiracial spirit

The programme of gastronomy speakers reflects the multiracial spirit of the congress. It is headed up by Fina Puigdevall (Les Cols**), who will also be collecting the 1st Worldcanic Award for her defence of La Garrotxa's volcanic space with her territory cuisine. The Catalan chef seeks her inspiration in her volcanic surroundings and in the 44 volcanoes around her "masía" farmhouse restaurant. Les Cols reflects this communion with the territory in many ways, and from all angles. A plantation, a henhouse, a mill, grazing land for the animals and an R+D lab make up part of a circuit created around the restaurant, which seeks not only excellent cuisine, but also cookery awareness and conscience. Les Cols is volcanic, green, sustainable cuisine.

Another lady seeking inspiration in one of the world's most active volcano sites is Luciana Bianchi (Restaurante Muyu, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador), an Italian-Brazilian chef and writer with qualifications in Molecular Sciences. She served her time at a number of Michelin-starred restaurants, and has published her work in 26 countries. She heads up the Fundación Galápagos, which focuses on gastronomy, conservation and sustainability. Her latest project is Muyu, the Galapagos Islands' first restaurant serving up fare from farm, forest and sea, a project which assists organic farmers and helps women and young people to move into the professional catering world.

Chefs in Africa

Dieuveil Malonga, who was born in Congo and grew up in Germany from the age of 13, is a young chef who made use of the fame he garnered as a contestant in Top Chef (France) to promote and showcase Africa's gastronomic talent. Through his digital ‘Chefs in Africa’ platform, set up in 2016, Malonga advises chefs and apprentices and puts them into contact with businesses, academies, hotels and restaurants which can either take them on or provide them with grants. The idea is to give all young people with a culinary vocation a chance, just like him, in order to overcome barriers nowadays such as lack of training and employment or discrimination. More than 4,000 chefs from African countries or dotted around the diaspora have joined this network, and institutions such as the World Tourism Organisation and UNESCO have lent it their support. He was a finalist in the 2018 Basque Culinary World Prize, and also took the Forbes 30 under 30 award.

Plants amid lava mountains

Gísli Matthías runs Slippurinn in Vestmannaeyjar, in Iceland's Vestman islands. He trained at Eleven Madison Park and Aska, in New York, and he and his family set up a restaurant at the old shipyard in the town, where the landscape changed forever due to the lava produced by a volcanic eruption in 1973. In these incredible surroundings, where plants grow on the mountains formed by the lava, Matt also heads up a culinary movement that both honours the history of Iceland and moves the country forward towards innovation. They form part of a group of speakers which also features  Ayu Gayatri (Indonesia), co-founder and head chef at Pengalaman Rasa in northern Bali, who makes a stand for local produce and uses traditional tools and utensils in her work. Also Kārena and Kasey Bird (Maketu, New Zealand), two New Zealand sisters who won Masterchef New Zealand in 2014. This success, the first ever for a duo anywhere in the world, changed their lives. They have now consolidated their profession as publishers of prizewinning books, authors and television presenters, and have their own cooking/travel series, ‘Karena and Kasey's Kitchen Diplomacy’. 

Endemic species

The list of scientists is headed up by Charles Balagizi from the Goma Volcano Observatory in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is director of the Geosite programme at the Virunga National Park (Rwanda), Africa's first national park, a World Heritage forest thanks to its extensive diversity of habitats. Endemic species, rare species and species facing extinction, such as the last of the mountain gorillas, live in a territory dominated by two active volcanoes, the Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira, with extensive lava fields.

His experience includes studies of volcanic gases, the monitoring of active volcanoes, the geochemistry of water and geological hazards. He has authored several scientific papers in these fields, and is a member of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI).

Resilience in volcanic areas 

The list of experts is rounded off by Colombian geologist Sebastián Vásquez Valencia, who will be talking about America's endemic ecosystems and how nature survives fire from volcanoes, and French vulcanologist Anne Fornier, who has been working on resilience in volcanic areas for more than 20 years and is the founder of the Volcano Active Foundation, the world's first foundation seeking to mitigate risk and boost the resilience of people and ecosystems in volcanic areas. Worldcanic will also be graced with the presence of Stephanie Barde Cabusson, whose vulcanology master classes are considered some of the world's most exciting, and who is now working in Oahu (Hawaii) on a water resources project in the volcanic islands.

Sylvain Chermette is director of the expeditions agency 80 Jours Voyages. At Worldcanic he will be talking about volcanoes in Asia, the world's most active. A vulcanology enthusiast, Chermette is a specialist in active volcanoes and eruptive sites. He has written many articles for the European Vulcanological Association, the Geneva Vulcanological Association and the French Geology Association (Géochronique). He is now making preparations for a three-month expedition in 2023 to the Sandwich Islands, an unexplored area near the Antarctic, an uninhabited 310 km² archipelago forming an arch of 11 islands of volcanic origin.

In addition to showcooking at locations such as Jameos del Agua and talks by vulcanology experts, the programme also features round tables to discuss tourist projects in connection with the world of volcanoes, volcanic legumes, and Lanzarote's marine reserve. There will also be volcanic wine tasting sessions, and the congress will move around the island of Lanzarote staging gastronomic activities where local chefs will share the kitchen with international cooks attending the congress.