Professional Jury - Spain

Rafael AnsónRafael Ansón Born in San Sebastián, he holds a law degree and a diploma from the French National School of Administration. Ansón has served as Director of the Public Relations Office of the Presidency of the Government, Director of Provincial Plans in the Presidency of the Government, Director General of the Institute of Public Opinion, Director General of Radio and Television Broadcasting, and Director General of RTVE in the first government of Adolfo Suárez. He served as an advisor to President Suárez. He is also an associate professor at the Instituto de Empresa, director of the Chair of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy at the Alfonso X El Sabio University, and promoter and technical director of the Gastronomic Journalism Course at the Complutense University of Madrid. In 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Alfonso X El Sabio University. Rafael Ansón is a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines, and the author and prologue writer of numerous publications. He has also promoted the Campsa Guide, now the Repsol Guide. He is the President of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy of Spain, the Ibero-American Academy of Gastronomy, and the Mediterranean Academy of Gastronomy. He is also the Founding President and currently the Honorary President of the International Academy of Gastronomy. Among the distinctions he has received are the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic, the Grand Cross of Civil Merit, the Grand Cross of Naval Merit, and the Grand Cross of Social Security. He also received the Gold Medal of the City of Paris, the Gold Medal for Merit in Tourism, and the Knighthood of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.