50 Next recognizes Capetonian Leah Bessa as food and drink leader

The organisation behind The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has unveiled the first edition of 50 Next, a list of young people shaping the future of gastronomy.

700 candidates were considered from a pool of applications, nominations, and talent directly scouted by the Basque Culinary Center, 50 Next’s academic partner. The initiative celebrates people aged 35 and under from across the wider food and drink scene, from producers, educators, tech creators, and activists.

This year’s list features individuals from 34 countries including Leah Bessa of Cape Town, South Africa as a “science innovator” advocating insects as the food of the future. In 2017, she co-founded Gourmet Grubb, a company selling ice cream made from Entomilk, the world’s first insect-derived dairy product, and recently started Oaternative, which is a dairy alternative made from oats.