Language

English

Start date

June 2026

Frequency

Part-time

Duration

10 days

Credits

50 Hours

A course in which you’ll use avant-garde culinary processes, tools and techniques to design creative gastronomic proposals with a sound concept.

In this Summer Course in Creative Cuisine, taught in English, we’ll explore the various phases of a gastronomic project: analysing the context of avant-garde cuisine, investigating the concept to be developed, designing and creating a culinary experience from start to finish, and the menu to go with it. 

In the 2-week course you’ll learn the processes, the latest techniques and skills needed to develop innovative gastronomic proposals. You’ll also study the history of cooking, its evolution and trends.

A course in which cooking and design techniques converge, taking a creative approach to the culinary tradition of the Basque Country. 

Information to decide

Combine technique, creativity and design to take your passion for gastronomic creation to the next level.

This is a project-based summer course to get first-hand experience applying what you learn in a real context.

Combining theory with practice, you’ll learn as you progress, using the experience gained to host a gastronomic event. You’ll also participate in cooking shows held at the design school.

·       Cooking enthusiasts who want to take their hobby to the next level by learning professional techniques and exploring their creative talent.

·       Cooking graduates (recent or not) who want to specialize in culinary experience management.

·       Gastronomic advisors who want to complete their training and offer more coherent and consistent projects.

·       Professional chefs and cooks who want to develop their skills, explore new techniques and convey a deeper message with their dishes.

·       People who want to open or promote their own gastronomic business, innovate their menus, improve customer experience or stand out from the crowd by proposing unique culinary solutions.

·       Cooking and gastronomy lecturers and educators who want to enrich the teaching they offer with design processes, developing concepts for their gastronomic proposals.

·       Professionals from other areas related to gastronomy, food critics, product photographers or culinary stylist who want a deeper understanding of what goes into the creative cuisine process to improve their own work.

Prior cooking knowledge and experience (tools, techniques, ingredients, preparation, cooking, etc.) is essential to get the most out of the course.

Take a creative approach to designing gastronomic experiences with a focus on the conceptual design process.

The objectives of the course are innovation and gastronomic creativity, giving you the foundations you need to develop your own culinary projects.

It’s a practice-based course in which you’ll learn the latest techniques, processes, ingredients and skills needed to design menus and experiences with a difference.

You’ll put what you’ve learned into practice designing a gastronomic event: research, concept selection, experience design, production, logistics and execution.

It’s a very dynamic experience with students from all over the world, in a creative environment like IED Kunsthal Bilbao. And you’ll be studying in the Basque Country, where people are constantly breaking new ground in avant-garde cuisine.

This introductory course can open the doors to a wide range of professional opportunities:

·       Start your own gastronomic business in the food sector: catering and services for events, food trucks, restaurants...

·       Creative cuisine chef developing innovative new dishes.

·       Gastronomic consultant advising restaurants on menu innovation.

·       New food product creator, applying creative cuisine know-how.

·       Expert teaching cooking classes in schools or face-to-face and online workshops.

Syllabus

CONTEXT

Trends in gastronomy 

Design thinking 

Avant-garde cuisine 

Tasting and guided degustation



PRE-PROJECT

Research on a concept 

Selection and elaboration of key issues 

Narrative and storytelling 

Development of a conceptual product



PROJECT – CONCEPT FOOD EVENT

Topic assignment 

Research and in-depth investigation 

Screening and definition of the final concept 

Experience and menu design 

Production and logistics 

Development and execution 

Faculty

Course Coordinator

Maddalen Arrecubieta

Teacher

Carlos Hurtado

Teacher

Marc Cardenas

News

07 May 2026

IED.60 Public Program - May: between Plural Intelligences and the culture of design

The programme of IED events open to both the internal and external communities continues in may; it was launched to mark the 60th anniversary as a collective reflection on the role of design.

06 May 2026

IED at the “Lápiz de Acero” Award in Colombia

IED joins Lápiz de Acero 2026 in Bogotá, supporting emerging talent and the future of design.

22 April 2026

Honourable Mention at the DBEW Award 2026 for two IED Torino alumni

The first edition of the DBEW Award saw two IED Torino alumni among its leading protagonists

20 April 2026

“Caliu”, by alumnus Judith Aubà, to be exhibited in “Matter Matters. Designing with the World”

The project has been selected by the Museu del Disseny-DHub as part of the annual “Matèria Prima” open call to feature in this exhibition, which rethinks the relationship with matter understood as an active agent.

17 April 2026

Vote for IED Madrid projects among the ten finalists in Accor Design Awards 2026

For the second year running, four IED Madrid students have reached the grand final, placing their projects among the best in the world

16 April 2026

X-plorer, by alumni Aaron Gonzalo selected for the ADI-FAD Delta Medals 2026

The jury has selected only 15 projects out of the 104 submitted, forming the Delta Medals 2026 Selection, including X-plorer, Aaron Gonzalo’s Final Degree Project.

15 April 2026

More than 9,800 students took part in the AQU Catalunya and Catalan universities' mass survey on recent graduate satisfaction

Responses will be used to identify areas for improvement in the higher education studies currently offered in the Catalan university system and in higher artistic education centres.

14 April 2026

200 people take part in the “Urban Picnic” initiative, which connects design, sustainability and community

An initiative by IED Barcelona within the programme of Barcelona 2026 World Capital of Architecture, and as part of the European project Feed Your Future and the activities marking the 60th anniversary of IED · Plural Intelligences.

IED Italy and Spain Summer Courses

10 April 2026

IED Italy and Spain Summer Courses

An international educational experience in Italy and Spain that integrates learning, research, and the exploration of dynamic and stimulating cultural contexts.

Don't miss it

Exhibitions and Festival

28 April 2026 - 30 September 2026

Barcelona

“Caliu” in “Matter Matters. Designing with the World”

The project “Caliu”, by IED Barcelona alumnus Judith Aubà, has been selected to form part of this exhibition, which reflects on the major challenges facing design today and in the future at a critical time marked by the scarcity of raw materials.

HYPER FUTURES. DISEÑAR MÁS ALLÁ DEL CAPITALISMO
Lecture and Panel discussion

08 May 2026 - 22 May 2026

Madrid

HYPER FUTURES. DESIGNING BEYOND CAPITALISM

On Friday 8 May at 6.30 pm, we will celebrate this event with a workshop on the future, a panel discussion and the opening of the exhibition featuring dj Umami

Exhibitions and Festival

18 May 2026 - 22 May 2026

Barcelona

“Discovering Feed Your Future”

The Ateneu de Fabricació de Gràcia hosts this exhibition of projects that explore new responses to climate change and food sustainability.

Lecture and Panel discussion

19 May 2026 - 19 May 2026

Florence

Ettore Sottsass: Design as Storytelling

As part of the exhibition Io sono un architetto. Ettore Sottsass, organized by Fondazione Pistoia Musei (Palazzo Buontalenti, until July 26), IED presents a special event dedicated to one of the most influential figures in Italian and international design.

Lecture and Panel discussion

22 May 2026 - 22 May 2026

Rome

Twins: Conversations on the Duality between Identity, Transformation and Contemporary Imaginaries

Three lectures and a final talk exploring how brands, organizations and individuals navigate change and redefine their identity across physical, symbolic and digital dimensions.