Nine of World’s Greatest Chefs at Launch of Brain Food Forum

Saturday 30th October will see the launch of The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Brain Food Forum, an exchange of knowledge and ideas between young chefs and nine of the greatest chefs in the world.

The inaugural event will take place in Milan, where Massimo Bottura and Virgilio Martinez will discuss the themes of Taste & Creativity, presenting topics to demonstrate how creativity, drive for taste, and discovery does not just result in delicious food, but can also change lives.

Bottura will discuss his mission to save food from waste, his appointment with the UN Environment Program (UNEP) as Goodwill Ambassador, and Refettorio projects, cultural community hubs with social kitchens under the vision of the non profit Food For Soul, now partnering with the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy mobilizing and empowering local communities to reduce food loss and waste and support social inclusion.

Martinez will discuss his project ‘Mater’, undertaken to catalogue and rediscover ingredients and techniques within the local communities of the Andes and the Amazon to preserve indigenous gastronomic culture for the future.

In addition to Bottura and Martinez, the forum will host seven additional leading figures in global gastronomy: Mauro Colagreco (Italian-Argentine chef at the three-Michelin-star restaurant Mirazur in Menton, France), Manu Buffara (executive chef and owner of Manu in Curitiba, which is paving the way for gastronomy in Brazil), Clare Smyth (the first and only female chef to run a restaurant with three Michelin stars in the UK), Andreas Caminada (at the age of only 33, he earned three Michelin stars, and today showcases his vision of gastronomy in the historic 13th-century castle of Schauenstein, Switzerland), Gavin Kaysen (James Beard Award winner and one of the founding mentors of the nonprofit Mentor BKB Foundation (formerly Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation), Pim Techamuanvivit (owner of Nari, Kamin, and Michelin-starred Kin Khao in San Francisco, and the executive chef of Michelin-starred Nahm in Bangkok in 2019) and Enrico Bartolini (three-star Michelin chef originally from Tuscany is one of Italy’s, and the world’s, brightest gastronomic talents). These Seven Sages will make up a panel of experts that will invite questions and discussion around the themes of Taste & Creativity.

The event will be held at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2019-2021 grand final and is curated by Fine Dining Lovers with editor-in-chief Ryan King offering insight and mediation in his role as host. The key themes of Taste & Creativity chosen to reiterate the core values of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy: an online educational platform created to attract, connect and nurture diverse talent in the world of gastronomy.

Young talents and previous winners of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef competition, Mitch Lienhard (USA, 2016) and Mark Moriarty (UK & Ireland region, 2015) will also be in attendance to discuss expectations of young chefs today and their experiences in the industry.

Follow the launch event: The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Brain Food Forum will continue to take place at various locations across the globe, offering insight across varying themes with the aim of providing direct access to knowledge from global figures in the hospitality industry.

The Brain Food Forum will be available to view via live stream on Fine Dining Lovers on Saturday 30th October from 9.30am-12.30pm CEST.