The 12 regional winners that will compete for the title of S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy 2021 global winner.

S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy will welcome to Milan all those who share its belief in the transformative power of taste for the Grand Finale of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy 2019-2021 competition. The event will take place for three days starting October 28.Involving 48 young regional winners and 12 mentor chefs, the event will include the cooking competition as well as several new educational and networking activities, culminating on the final day with the new S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Brain Food Forum followed by the Competition Awards Ceremony.All over the globe, 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 regional winners arrive 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.The 12 regions and the respective S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy winners are:

1. Jose Lorenzo Morales, Melbourne, Australia, Pacific Region – “Analogy”
2. Kevin Wong Tat Mun, Singapore, Singapore, Asia Region – “Celebration of a Duck”
3. Albert Manso Miras, Barcelona, Spain, Iberian & Mediterranean Region – “Quail and Wine”
4. Cynthia Xrysw Ruelas Diaz, Guadalajara, Mexico, Latin America Region – “Milpa y Mar”
5. Levente Koppány, Budapest, Hungary, Central Europe Region – “Rainbow trout with chervil, forest mushrooms and wild garlic”
6. Vitalii Savelev, Moscow, Russian Federation, Euro Asia Region – “Black Sea Rapa with mushrooms grown on lemon peels”
7. Alexandre Alves Pereira, Paris, France, North West Europe Region – “Green asparagus, sardine, ground ivy”
8. Paul Thinus Prinsloo, Cape Town, South Africa, Africa & Middle East Region – “Bouillabaisse 2.0”
9. Alessandro Bergamo, Milan, Italy, Italy & South East Region – “Better an egg today or a chicken tomorrow?”
10. Rafael Covarrubias, Oakville, Canada, North America Region – “Mole Negro spiced muscovy duck, preserved prune, and winter roots”
11. Jerome Ianmark Calayag, Stockholm, Sweden, UK & North Europe Region – “Humble vegetables”
12. Victor/Zhi Cheng Wang, Shanghai, China, Greater China Region – “What is soy in China”

At the grand finale, the selected young chefs will cook in front of the Seven Sages, an esteemed jury panel made up of seven world-renowned chefs, who will judge their dishes to find the final winner of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy 2019-2021 competition. The famous chefs are: Enrico Bartolini, Manu Buffara, Andreas Caminada, Mauro Colagreco, Gavin Kaysen, Clare Smyth and Pim Techamuanvivit.

The jurors will be judging the finalists based on three key attributes: technical skills, creativity, and personal belief – as well as the candidates’ potential to create positive change in society through food. The chef who displays these attributes most successfully will be crowned the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy 2021 winner.In addition, this year’s culinary journey will also host a one-day S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Brain Food Forum curated by Fine Dining Lovers, the online leading voice in gastronomy by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. “Brain Food” will host Massimo Bottura, Virgilio Martinez and the Seven Sages as speakers. Sharing their experiences and opinions, the guests will inspire all the young chefs and real food enthusiasts who attend the event, with ideas and reflections related to the world of gastronomy.

This year’s competition introduced three new awards to reflect S.Pellegrino’s belief in and support of the transformative power of gastronomy and its impact beyond the kitchen. These awards were available at the regional level and all of the 36 winners of these awards will also be invited to attend the grand finale, affording them another opportunity to network with some of the biggest names in gastronomy from around the globe.The three awards that complement the existing S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy award are:

1. Acqua Panna Award for Connection in Gastronomy

This award will be voted for by the 12 mentors, one from each region, and will go to the chef whose signature dish best reflects the perfect connection between different cultures. The purpose of the award is to emphasize the growing trend in global gastronomy of “Chefs without Borders”.

2. S.Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility

This award will be decided by an internationally recognized voice on sustainability in food, selecting the chef who puts forward the dish that best represents the principle of food as a result of socially responsible practices.

3. Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award

This award will be voted for by the online Fine Dining Lovers community, foodies, chefs and fans of gastronomy all over the world, and will be awarded to the young chef who best represents their personal belief within their dish.