Clara Maria González de Amezúa, ambassador for food

An avid traveler, daring entrepreneur, and keen ambassador for Spanish cuisine, Clara María González de Amenzúa has left her mark with the creation of Alambique—a cooking school and kitchenware store that has played a key role in the evolution of cooking in Spain.

She was also an ambassador for food. "As I knew about cooking and spoke languages, which was quite unusual, jobs kept coming up for me to go and showcase Spanish cuisine around the world for the Ministry of Agriculture, the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), and particularly the International Olive Council. I worked for them for 18 years, traveling all over the world to talk to people about the extra virgin olive oil produced in Spain."