S.Pellegrino Searches to Find the Best Young Chef in the World
The hunt is on to find the best young chef in the world.
On January 1 2016 entries openeded for the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 competition – an international project dedicated to finding the best young chef in the world.
This is the second year that the competition has run, and last year more than 3,000 chefs under the age of 30 applied to compete to win the title.
Dividing the world into 20 regions and involving around 100 top chefs as judges, 20 young chef finalists, 20 chef mentors and a stellar chefs jury, the unique initiative reflects S.Pellegrino’s commitment to supporting emerging talents. The 2016 competition will feature a new panel of judges, known as the Seven Sages, who will be responsible for crowning the most talented young chef in the world. Composed of some of the world’s most renowned culinary masters, the jury includes David Higgs, Carlo Cracco, Gaggan Anand, Elena Arzak, Mauro Colagreco, Wylie Dufresne and Roberta Sudbrack.
Young Chef and global winner of the 2015 competition representing the UK & Ireland, Mark Moriarty, said: “I was delighted and honoured to be named S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2015. The journey was an unforgettable, one off experience that I will always remember. I met so many fantastic chefs along the way and the title has made an incredible difference to my career as a whole.”
Competitors must pass through a number of stages before the grand finale which is to be held in Milan in October 2016.
Phase One – Online Application
From January 1 until March 31 2016, young chefs across the globe will have the opportunity to submit their application together with their signature dish, in English, via www.finedininglovers.com. Young chefs must be no older than 30 and are required to have at least one year’s experience working in a restaurant as chefs, sous chefs or chefs de partie.
Phase Two – Selection of Regional Shortlist and Regional Winner
All candidates will be divided into 20 regions* (according to their geographic origin) and their applications will be assessed by ALMA, the world’s leading international training centre for Italian Cuisine (www.alma.scuolacucina.it). Throughout the month of April, ALMA will select the ten finalists for each region following five Golden Rules: ingredients, skills, genius, beauty and message.
Phase Three – Regional Finals
The selected ten finalists for each market will move on to the Local Finals, where live competitions will be held locally in each region from May 1 until August 15. During these events, the area finalists will have to cook their signature dishes for an exclusive regional jury composed of independent top chefs, who will taste the dishes and select the winner, following the five Golden Rules. The 2016 UK & Ireland judging panel includes fantastic chefs, such as Claude Bosi, Ollie Dabbous, JP McMahon and Ross Lewis.
By the end of August 2016, the 20 Best Regional Young Chefs from each world region will be announced as the official finalists. Each finalist will be assigned a Mentor Chef: a member of the regional jury, who will provide the young chefs with suggestions to improve their signature dishes and to help them prepare for the global finals. The UK & Ireland mentor chef will be two Michelin starred chef and owner of Hibiscus, Claude Bosi.
The competition culminates with the Grand Finale event on October 13 2016 when all the finalists will gather in Milan for two days of intense competition where they will cook in front of the international panel that will choose who will be awarded the prestigious title of S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016.
Applications will close on March 31 2016 – apply via www.finedininglovers.com
Follow the competition on social media via the hashtag #SPYoungChef:
Fine Dining Lovers Twitter: @finedininglover
Fine Dining Lovers Instagram: @finedininglovers
S.Pellegrino Instagram: @sanpellegrino_official
