Rania Moualla is the Founder and Chairwoman of ZADK Saudi Culinary Academy, the first nonprofit culinary institution in Saudi Arabia, fully owned by an endowment (Waqf). She is widely recognized as a pioneer in social entrepreneurship and community development across the Kingdom.
Rania has devoted her life to social responsibility, youth empowerment, and promoting sustainability. She leads ZADK on a volunteer basis, ensuring the academy adheres to the highest standards of education, quality, and impact, while staying rooted in its mission to preserve heritage and reduce food waste.
Educated at Tishreen University in Syria, she has completed training in English Literature in Texas, USA, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, and Community Service. For over two decades, she served as a volunteer leader at Dhahran Ahliyya Schools, chaired cultural and records committees, and worked with the Saudi Cancer Society and Friends of Cancer Patients Association, leading more than 15 initiatives to support vulnerable groups.
She founded Yabaladi, a heritage-inspired fashion project that funded cancer care; organized the Al-Yasmeen Fair for organ donation awareness; and launched the “Gratitude for Sanitation Workers” initiative, now an annual tradition. In 2016, she joined the Food Waste Challenge at the Rio Olympics, inspiring her “Food for Change” program and the creation of ZADK in 2018.
Under her leadership, ZADK has earned over ten national and international awards, including UN Tourism TEDQUAL accreditation, ISO certifications, three medals at the World Culinary Olympics, the Saudi Ministry of Culture Prize, and a Guinness World Record. She is a global speaker, Senior Advisor to the Global Food Safety Organization, board member of the Al-Fozan Foundation, and was named among the Top 10 Women Creating Social Impact at Expo Osaka 2025.
Elena Arzak is the fourth generation of her family to lead the kitchen at Arzak Restaurant in San Sebastián, which has been awarded three Michelin stars. Trained in the principles of the New Basque Cuisine Movement championed by her legendary father, Chef Juan Mari Arzak, and influenced by the forefront of Spanish cuisine in the early 21st century, she has developed her own distinctive personality in her culinary creations.
She has established a collaborative creativity method with her team that continually fuels innovation in Arzak’s Basque cuisine, which is research-based and contemporary.
Elena attended the Hotel and Restaurant Management School in Lucerne, Switzerland, and expanded her culinary knowledge in top European restaurants such as La Maison Troisgros, Pierre Gagnaire, Carré des Feuillants, and Le Vivarois in France, Louis XV in Monte Carlo, Le Gavroche in London, Antica Osteria del Ponte in Italy, and El Bulli in Spain, among others. She returned to the family restaurant in the 1990s, working her way through all kitchen stations while creating original dishes alongside her father, who continuously supported and challenged her.
In May 2001, the International Academy of Gastronomy awarded Elena the Chef de Avenir Award. In 2010, the Spanish Academy of Gastronomy granted her the National Gastronomy Award. Subsequently, in 2012, she received the World’s Best Female Chef Award from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Later, in her homeland, she was awarded the 2014 “Euskadi” Gastronomy Award for Best Restaurateur. Since then, she has continued to receive honors such as the Augie Leadership Award from the Culinary Institute of America in 2015 and the UNWTO Award as Special Ambassador of the World Tourism Organization in 2018, among others.
Elena currently directs Arzak Restaurant. Her history, culinary expertise, passion, and enthusiasm define the characteristic spirit of this world-renowned establishment.
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