S.Pellegrino has unveiled its lineup of 21 finalists for S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018, the third edition of the global competition to find the best young chef in the world.
After being selected from thousands of applicants worldwide and coming out victorious in their local competitions, each of the 21 young chef finalists will represent their respective geographic regions in the Grand Finale round, taking place from May 11-13, 2018, in Milan, Italy.
The 21 S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018 finalists are:
Ireland & the UK: Killian Crowley (Aniar – Galway, Ireland)
Africa & Middle East: Vusumuzi Ndlovu (The Saxon Hotel Villas and Spa – Johannesburg, South Africa)
BeNeLux: Frederic Chastro (Sõma– Antwerp, Belgium)
Canada: Benjamin Mauroy-Langlais (Automne – Montréal)
Central America Caribbean: José Óscar Casimiro Segundo (Ajumú – Guadalajara, Mexico)
China: Chanwai Poon (Aurora at Shanghai Disney Resort – Shanghai)
East Europe: Marcin Popielarz (White Rabbit – Gdansk, Poland)
France: Antonio Buono (Mirazur – Menton)
Germany & Austria: Falko Weiss (à la Minute - Trier)
Italy: Edoardo Fumagalli (La Locanda del Notaio – Pellio Intelvi, Como)
Japan: Yasuhiro Fujio (La Cime – Osaka, Japan)
Latin America: Elizabeth Puquio Landeo (Ambrosía – Santiago, Chile)
Mediterranean countries: Constadina Voulgari Kontesopoulou (Pelagos Sea Side – Ierapetra, Greece)
Northeast Asia: Zih-Yang Chen (VG The Seafood Bar – Taipei, Taiwan)
Pacific: John Rivera (Amaru – Armadale, Melbourne)
Russia & CIS: Ruslan Evstigneev (Pushkin – Kazan, Russia)
Scandinavia & the Baltics: Anton Husa (Upper House Dining – Gothenburg, Sweden)
Southeast Asia: Jake Kellie (Burnt Ends – Singapore)
Spain & Portugal: David Andrés (ABaC – Barcelona, Spain)
Switzerland: Dävid Walti (Eisblume – Worb)
United States: John Taube (The NoMad Hotel – New York)
In Ireland and the UK’s local competition round, Killian Crowley came out on top of 10 contenders with his dish of turbot, kohlrabi and sea purslane. Now, he is preparing for the global finals round with his mentor chef, MBE of Murano London Angela Hartnett, who will provide guidance on how to improve his dish leading up to the Grand Finale in Milan.
Crowley commented, “It’s an honour to represent Ireland and UK in this international competition. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to cook opposite some amazing chefs from all over the world and I’m looking forward to the Grand Finale in May already. Getting the opportunity to work with Angela as my mentor is a great chance for me and I think her knowledge has been invaluable in preparing me for the final. We’re looking forward to it.”
The S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018 Grand Finale will serve as a world stage for the 21 young chefs, where they will put their skills to the test in front of a jury, known as the “Seven Sages”, made up of world-renowned chefs, including Annie Féolde, Virgilio Martínez, Paul Pairet, Brett Graham, Ana Roš, Dominique Crenn and Margarita Forés. Following the extensive evaluation based on the critera of the five “Golden Rules” of ingredients, skills, genius, beauty and message, a single winner will be chosen and crowned S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018.
