Following the closing of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 registration on April 7, the 10 semifinalists from each of the twenty regions across the world have been selected from thousands of applications submitted to FineDiningLovers.com.
Following the closing of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 registration on April 7, the 10 semifinalists from each of the twenty regions across the world have been selected from thousands of applications submitted to FineDiningLovers.com.
Young chefs from more than ninety different countries submitted their applications together with their signature dishes, all sharing one dream: to compete in the 2016 edition of S.Pellegrino’s global talent search to find the best young chef in the world.
The event is an extraordinary opportunity for participants to face and learn from other talent, gain global visibility and come in close contact with some of the most renowned chefs on the planet, such as those of the impressive Seven Sages grand finale jury, composed by David Higgs, Carlo Cracco, Gaggan Anand, Elena Arzak, Mauro Colagreco, Wylie Dufresne and Roberta Sudbrack.
There’s a long road ahead to the Young Chef finals in October, and ALMA—the world’s leading international educational and training centre for Italian Cuisine (www.alma.scuolacucina.it)—has already been hard at work. The acclaimed cooking school, in charge of the competition’s regional semifinalists selection, divided the thousands of applications received into twenty geographic regions and selected the top semifinalists from each region according to five Golden Rules: ingredients, skills, genius, beauty, and message.
“The process was anything but easy,” said Andrea Sinigaglia, General Manager of ALMA. “Our chefs and experts worked hard in order to select a maximimum of ten semifinalists for each region from so many interesting applications, so they have to make some tough decisions. The average skill level was quite high; it’s exciting to realize how many talented young chefs there are around the world that have the potential and the passion to emerge—they’re just looking for their big break.”
S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 offers young, talented chefs just the opportunity they’re looking for. The program was created by the world-famous sparkling water, S.Pellegrino to reaffirm its commitment to the promotion of emerging talents and to enhancing and diffusing fine dining culture throughout the world.
Africa-Middle East 10 selected semifinalists include:
Andrew McKinnon (South African): Sous Chef at DW Eleven-13 Restaurant, Johannesburg, with his “City of Gold” dish.
Jean – Claude Wagener (South African): Sous Chef at Something Good Roadhouse, Port Elizabeth, with his “Karoo Lamb” dish.
Dion Vengatass (South African): Sous Chef at the Belmond Mount Nelson Planet Restaurant, Cape Town, with his “Memories of shell fish curry” dish.
Dean Jones (South African): Chef at The Tasting Room @ Le Quartier Francais, Franschhoek, with his “Net Caught Fish & Chips” dish.
Phillip Nel (South Africa): Chef de Partie at Rust en Vrede, Stellenbosch, with his “The 3 little pigs went for Sunday lunch” dish.
Eka Mohamad : Chef at Bateaux Dubai, with his “Beetroot Salad with Goat Cheese Chantilly, Orange Dressing and Chocolate” dish.
Gregorie Berger: Chef, Restaurant Ossiano Fine Dining - Atlantis The Palm, with his “Kerguelen island legine & Cured Goose, Ponzu Insert, Potato Shell Stuffed With Agria Espuma, Roasted & Sour Jus, Artichoke & Black truffle , Shimeji , Tarragon Powder” dish.
Michael O’Shea: Sous Chef at The Ivy – Dubai, with his “Texture of peas and ham” dish.
Kevin Hook:Chef de Partie, La Spiaggia, “Newborn palm heart cooked and raw, burnt prawns tartar in carrot "samoussas", tiger prawns cooked at low temperature with crumble of spicy dhol” dish.
Azman Harda: Chef de Partie, NINO (kharafi global), with his “Citrus tea smoked salmon, pickled onion, bacon white bean salad,asparagus textures, malwani masala vinaigrette” dish.
Phase III of the project will take place from May 1 to August 15, during which the semifinalists of each region will compete in local challenges. Each region will have a jury composed of top independent chefs, who will judge the semifinalists’ signature dishes and choose the best one, based on the five Golden Rules. The individual winners from each geographic area will then move on to the international finals.
This year Chefs Chantel Dartnall, Meryem Cherkaoui and Christopher Lester have been named as the Middle East and Africa’s jury members for the local selection of S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016.
Come end of August, the twenty best local young chefs from each region of the world will be announced as the international official finalists. At this stage, they will also be assigned a “Mentor Chef”, who will advise them on how to improve their signature dishes and help them prepare for the global finals.
The twenty finalists will compete in the Grand Finale on October 13 in Milan, which will include two demanding days of cooking in front of the Seven Sages jury that will determine the winner of S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016.
Exclusive content related to each local and international phase of the project and to the young chefs and their signature dishes will be published regularly on www.finedininglovers.com, the online magazine for food enthusiasts proudly endorsed by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.
Follow the hashtag #SPYoungChef to never miss an update on the event.
THE 20 REGIONS
Italy
France
Germany-Austria
Switzerland
Spain-Portugal
UK-Ireland
Russia/Baltics/CIS (ex Soviet Union)
Scandinavia (Norway/Sweden/Finland/Denmark)
East Europe
BeNeLux
Med Countries
USA
Canada
Africa-Middle East
Latin America - Caribbean
Pacific (Australia/NZ/Pacific Islands)
China
Japan
Northeast Asia (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines)
Southeast Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia and Maldives)
THE PHASES OF THE PROJECT
PHASE ONE: ONLINE APPLICATION – January - March 2016
Any young chef in the world can submit their application together with their signature dish at www.finedininglovers.com. The chefs must be no older than 30 and are required to have experience of at least one year working in a restaurant as a chef, sous chef or chef de partie. The complete list of requirements will be available on the website.
PHASE TWO: GLOBAL SHORTLIST – April 2016
All candidates will be divided according to their geographic origin, representing 20 regions total*. ALMA, the world’s leading international educational and training centre for Italian Cuisine (www.alma.scuolacucina.it), will then select from the online applications the first 10 finalists for each region, according to five Golden Rules: ingredients, skills, genius, beauty, and message.
INGREDIENTS: Successfully selecting the best of what the market has to offer with regards to quality, freshness and uniqueness.
SKILLS: Successfully handling and transforming raw materials into a finished dish that respects its original essence.
GENIUS: Successfully exploring inedited, inspiring, unexpected prospects/outlooks, connected with fine dining culture with a personal and contemporary style, while maintaining a perfect balance of tastes and shapes.
BEAUTY: Dish presentation is part of the charm.
MESSAGE: Successfully communicating a clear message through work and personal vision.
PHASE THREE: LOCAL CHALLENGES – May 1– August 15, 2016
The 10 finalists of each area will have to compete during a local event: each region will have a jury composed by at least independent famous chefs that will taste the signature dishes of the finalists and choose the best one, always according to the 5 Golden Rules. By the end of August the 20 best young chefs from all the regions of the initiative will be announced.
FINAL PHASE: S.PELLEGRINO YOUNG CHEF FINAL – October 13 – 15, 2016
In October in Milan, S.Pellegrino will host the final event to celebrate the best young chefs who have competed. An international jury of famous chefs will award the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016.
About S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna
S.Pellegrino, Acqua Panna and Sanpellegrino Sparkling Fruit Beverages are international trademarks of Sanpellegrino S.p.A., which is based in Milan, Italy.
Distributed in over 130 countries through branches and distributors on all five continents, these products represent quality excellence by virtue of their origins and perfectly interpret Italian style worldwide as a synthesis of pleasure, health and well-being.
Founded in 1899, Sanpellegrino S.p.A. is the leading company in the beverage sector in Italy with its range of mineral waters, non-alcoholic aperitifs, drinks and iced teas. As a major Italian producer of mineral water, it has always been committed to enhancing this primary good for the planet and works responsibly and passionately to ensure that this resource has a secure future.
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