Opening of Gastronomy Innovation Campus Tokyo as the First International Hub of a World-Class Academy of Gastronomy Science Providing global educational programs and creating food innovation near Tokyo Station

Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President & Chief Executive Officer: Hitoshi Nomura; hereinafter “Tokyo Tatemono”) hereby announces the opening of the Gastronomy Innovation Campus Tokyo (hereinafter “GIC Tokyo”) in collaboration with the Basque Culinary Center (hereinafter “BCC”), a globally renowned academy of gastronomy science based in Spain, as the first international hub of the next-generation education and business co-creation platform Gastronomy Open Ecosystem (hereinafter “GOe”), located near Tokyo Station in the Tokyo Tatemono Yaesu Building as of November 7, 2024. As a global member of GOe, GIC Tokyo will provide a variety of educational programs in both English and Japanese that approach food from all angles.

BCC is known as one of the few universities and graduate schools (master’s and doctoral programs) in the world specializing in gastronomy, where students can learn about all aspects of food, including culinary techniques, gastronomy science, marketing, and food culture. From the Yaesu, Nihonbashi, and Kyobashi (YNK) area, historically developed as a hub for food since the Edo period with flourishing fish and produce markets, we aim to further enhance the value of the area by creating innovations that contribute to solving social issues related to food, as well as by training and producing specialists.

[Points of this news release]
・The world’s leading gastronomic science academy, BCC-GOe, has opened its first international hub near Tokyo Station.
・We will develop and provide BCC programs that combine gastronomy and science, as well as programs unique to Japan.
・Equipped with state-of-the-art equipment such as 3D food printers, this hub will foster co-creation with chefs, food-related companies, researchers, and startups through the application of food tech, and generate innovation.

Overview of GIC Tokyo

The facility includes a space for purposes such as cooking classes and workshops, and can accommodate about 20 people. In addition to the BCC curriculum, it also serves as a space for various programs featuring Japanese and international food experts. Besides disseminating the latest food tech using equipment such as 3D food printers, scientific research equipment such as evaporators*1, centrifuges, and freeze-drying machines have been installed in an aim to integrate different fields with gastronomy.
GIC Tokyo will also include a café and bar based on the concept of offering regenerative menus, and is scheduled to open as a hub for promoting regenerative*2 activities, with a full opening planned for December 2024.

• *1 A cooling device that uses the vaporized heat from evaporation. It is a scientific instrument applied in food-related processes.

• *2 This is a concept aimed at creating diverse values and a vibrant future by simultaneously pursuing the well-being of the Earth, society, and people.

Features of GIC Tokyo

Provision of curriculum in collaboration with BCC
As a pioneering educational institution that approaches food from every angle and explores not only culinary skills but also sustainability and food culture, the BCC promotes a global vision to provide its curriculum worldwide. At GIC Tokyo, participants can take courses that combine gastronomy and science of the BCC, as well as original GIC Tokyo programs tailored to Japanese food culture and history, including fermentation studies and the development of menus that lead to longevity. Some of these original GIC Tokyo programs will also be offered at BCC.
The program is open to all people involved in the food industry, including chefs, researchers, and food-related companies. Online streaming of the program is also planned.

Cross-disciplinary hub for global co-creation among Japanese chefs, food-related companies, start-ups, researchers, etc.
In addition to courses designed to broaden the perspectives of Japanese chefs, who are recognized for their high level of technical skills, we offer programs led by BCC Innovation, BCC’s technical institute, for food-related companies and start-ups aiming for global expansion, as well as acceleration programs through GOe. We aim to create a global food ecosystem that creates encounters between state-of-the-art technologies, chefs, researchers, and food-related players to create a variety of innovations that lead to solutions to social issues.

Tokyo Tatemono’s initiatives

In the Group’s Long-term Vision, “Becoming a Next-Generation Developer,” Tokyo Tatemono has been committed to solving issues and achieving higher levels of growth as a company, and has been conducting initiatives to solve common global social issues such as the food crisis caused by climate change. Focusing on the concept of regeneration, which is defined as creating diverse values and a vibrant future by simultaneously pursuing the well-being of the Earth, society, and people, Tokyo Tatemono is also working to create innovation through food as part of its measures to make Tokyo a more prosperous city. Going forward, we will continue to focus on business co-creation with food-related companies and solutions to social issues in response to global trends.

About Basque Culinary Center

Established in 2011 in San Sebastian, Spain, the BCC is a culinary college with a university and graduate school (master’s and doctoral programs) specializing in gastronomy. In addition to learning cutting-edge culinary techniques throughout the curriculum, the program offers a variety of programs that provide students with a 360-degree view of the food industry, including advanced gastronomy education such as sustainable restaurant management and molecular culinary science, marketing, and food culture. The BCC also operates BCC Innovation, the world’s first technology research institute specializing in food; LABe, a co-working space for startup companies; and GOe, a next-generation educational and business co-creation function; and is one of the few institutions in the world where academia, research institutions, and business collaborate to create a variety of innovations.
https://www.bculinary.com/en/home

Reference: Tokyo Tatemono’s initiatives in food innovation
・TOKYO FOOD INSTITUTE
TOKYO FOOD INSTITUTE is a general incorporated association established by Tokyo Tatemono and others to promote the creation of a food ecosystem that generates co-creation among various players in Japan and overseas through support for new businesses, projects that create the future of food, and human resource development. In addition to promoting industry–government–academia collaboration and open innovation related to food, the institute engages in activities such as supporting business formation and product and service development for companies, disseminating information domestically and internationally through owned media and events, providing learning opportunities and information to people involved in food, which contributes to human resource development.
https://tokyofoodinstitute.jp/

・TOKYO FOOD LAB
TOKYO FOOD LAB is a space for demonstration experiments and social implementation operated by Tokyo Tatemono, aimed at updating its members on the world food scene, improving their knowledge and skills, driving positive change in the direction of global food culture and practices, and solving social issues. It is equipped with the world’s most advanced plant factory and R&D facility, PLANTORY tokyo, along with the innovative community hub, U, where knowledge related to food can be shared and experienced.
https://www.tokyofoodlab.jp/

・KITCHEN STUDIO SUIBA
KITCHEN STUDIO SUIBA is an innovation studio operated by Tokyo Tatemono, which focuses on food to bring vibrancy to the area. Aimed at those who are engaged in activities to create the future of food, it is equipped with versatile kitchen spaces that can be utilized as test kitchens, for test marketing, and as venues for a proof of concept and other social implementation activities.
https://sui-ba.com/