After the long wait for the final chapter in this exciting story, the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Grand Finale 2021 took place from October 28-30 in Milan.
The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Competitionis the key activity of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy project, launched by S.Pellegrino last year, with the aim of nurturing the future of gastronomy by discovering young talents and empowering them with a plan of education, mentoring and experience opportunities. This edition of the Competition was more impressive than ever, seeing applicants from all over the world. 135 young chefs passed the preliminary selections and took part in live cook-offs in front of international jury panels from the participating countries of the 12 regions. The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition Regional Winners arrived at the Grand Finale after a mentorship path during which, thanks to the support of a Senior Chef, they were able to refine their signature dishes.
Having taken the regional title for UK and Northern Europe back in 2019 with his signature dish Humble vegetables, Jerome Ianmark Calayag beat 11 other finalists to become the overall winner of S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy 2021.
Elissa Abou Tasse
The main prize was complemented by three additional awards celebrating different aspects of culinary culture. The first of these, the S.Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility, was won by Callan Austin, who had made it the final by winning the regional award for Africa and Middle East.
The Acqua Panna Award for Connection in Gastronomy, on the other hand, went to Elissa Abou Tasse, winner of the Africa and Middle East regional award.
Abou Tasse is a young Lebanese chef, always having a message and a story to convey in her dishes. In her cooking style, she tries to focus on humble Levantine products because she believes that real gastronomy consists of using rich, everyday products and creating an elevated dish. “In my opinion, it is time to move the Lebanese gastronomy to the next level,” she told Hospitality News. Most of her training took place in various Spanish regions at Michelin star(s) restaurants, which explains her love with Andalusia. Abou Tasse is now the executive creator chef for KANZ, high-end handcrafted delicacies, and is soon opening KANZ restaurant concept. “With KANZ, I am developing a Lebanese encyclopedia about our various rich products and our mesmerizing ancient preserving techniques,” she said.
She continued: “I won the Acqua Panna award 2021 for connection in gastronomy with my plate Adam’s Garden, representing Africa and the Middle East. This award highlights the creativity in a dish that relates diversity and recognizes the beauty and amalgam of different cultures that came together to create an exciting, creative and fresh dish.”
Adam’s Garden reflects a sharp identity, having flavors that embody the Levant region: Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. It consists of vine leaves mille-feuille filled with burned eggplant cream, salted pine nuts praline and burned lemon pearl, topped over lamb’s testis and pomegranate molasses glazed fig birds with a sauce made from riso venere.
And finally, the Fine Dining Lovers Food For Thought Award, voted by the Fine Dining Lovers online community of foodies, chefs and gourmet enthusiasts around the world, was awarded to Andrea Ravasio from the Iberian and Mediterranean Countries region.
