Italian pasta brand Barilla launched a worldwide search for the next big culinary sensation that will culminate in the Pasta World Championship on October 24-25, 2018 in Milan. Now in its seventh edition and just in time for World Pasta Day, the two-day pasta challenge will see 18 young chefs under the age of 35 compete before a Michelin-starred jury for the title of Master of Pasta.

This year’s jury includes famed Italian chefs Lorenzo Cogo, Viviana Varese and Luigi Taglienti, chef nutritionist Holger Stromberg from Germany and US food photographer and influencer Brittany Wright. They will be judging presentation skills, creativity and cooking mastery during three heated rounds that will see the young chefs create proprietary signature dishes and reinterpret a true Italian classic, the beloved Spaghetti al Pomodoro. Davide Oldani, a hinker and Italian chef, will be joining the panel for the last challenge.

John Dickie, best-seller author and professor of Italian Studies at University College London, and Francesca Romana Barberini, noted author and food and wine personality in Italy, will act as masters of ceremony.

“Barilla wants to support the next crop of talented chefs and inspire them to embrace the positivity and conviviality of the Italian lifestyle,” added Andrea Malservisi, brand equity and communication director, The Barilla Group. “The next Master of Pasta needs to come up with inventive and surprising pasta dishes that will ultimately elevate the codes of modern cuisine.”

The 2018 Pasta World Championship will  be centered around the theme of ‘Eat Positive’, in an effort from Barilla to promote a joyful, balanced and nutritious way of eating with respect to quality ingredients and sustainability. Participating chefs will be asked to further that vision by creating signature dishes that inspire a positive way of eating and promote pasta consumption worldwide.

Eat Positive will also transpire from the various talks and conferences that the event will host, from discussions about farming practices to sustainable eating and the power of simple, flavorful and beautiful Italian food.

On July 23, 2017 Pasta World Championship winner Accursio Lotá from San Diego, USA, presided over the drawing of this year’s competition schedule at the Academia Barilla in Parma, Italy. Academia Barilla is the first premier culinary center dedicated to the development and promotion of Italian gastronomic culture in the world. As a result, nine pairings were created to represent the countries that will be facing each other during round one of the Championship.